Raymond Julius Arthur Behrschmidt

Raymond Julius Arthur Behrschmidt

Raymond Julius Arthur Behrschmidt was born at home at 2024 Washburn Avenue in Chicago, Illinois on September 7, 1923. He had a long and interesting life, dying on June 17, 2016 at the age of 92. He is survived by his wife Charleen, his daughters Lucille Chaney and Linette Angelastro, grandchildren Charles Angelastro, Blake Angelastro and Javier Chaney, and many other family members and friends.

Dad was truly a Renaissance man with great intellect, sense of humor and passion for life. He spent his life chasing his dreams and pretty much achieving them. He came from humble beginnings and therefore appreciated everything he had in life all the more. He was the seventh and final child born to Andrew and Bertha Behrschmidt. Being the baby, he outlived all of his beloved sisters and brothers, Frieda, John, Bill, Ed, Betty and Lucille. Dad had a happy childhood. He described himself as an "apron-stringer" which meant that he was somewhat of a mama's boy. But he described chores he had to do like blacking the stove and going to the cellar to get coal for the kitchen stove, which heated the house. He loved to build model airplanes and ride his bike (that one of his older brothers bought for him.) He learned to swim in the Kankakee River. He described attending the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago and going several times by himself on the streetcar. Dad was very smart and attended a Lutheran grammar school. After that he went to Crane Technical High School, which is still in Chicago, graduating in 1940. He went to work for Bell Labs, but when WWII came around he enlisted in the Army, hoping to become an airline pilot. Unfortunately, his eyesight was not good enough. However, upon joining, the Army gave everyone IQ tests and if you scored over 150, you were put into special programs for training. Dad scored 149 and they let him slide. He always joked that he was the "dumb guy" in the group. Dad was trained in radar and repaired the radar units in airplanes. He said that they made sure each unit was completely operational each time a plane went out, and removed the entire unit when it returned and put in a completely tested operational unit for the next flight. Dad served in Italy and was about to be sent to the Pacific theater when WWII ended. Dad was grateful that he was able to serve his country without taking a life.

After the war, Dad used the GI bill to go to Purdue University, graduating with a degree in Electrical Engineering in only three and a half years. Dad was a member of Beta Sigma Psi Lutheran fraternity and graduated in 1949. By that time, he was on his own in life as both his parents were gone. Through a friend, Dad met his future wife, Charleen Zeman, in about 1948. After promising her the moon, the stars, date night every Saturday and six children, they married in January 1950.

Mom and Dad moved to New York City after their marriage where Dad worked while Mom attended college. Apparently their marriage did not go well as Saturday nights were not date night and Dad apparently grossly stretched the truth about children because now he didn't want any! So, in 1954 they got a divorce.

Dad moved to California after that and worked and lived on Catalina with his brother Bill. Dad saved up $4,000 and then took a grand tour of Europe on a motorbike for 2 years in 1957 and 1958. He spent time in every country and saw everything. He spent three weeks inside the Louvre! But, he also sent hundreds of postcards to Mom! Hmm.

After his European adventure, Dad worked for a while in Iran and then moved back to Chicago. It didn't take him long to look up Mom. Apparently Dad had figured out that all women want date night and children. So, in 1960 Mom and Dad got remarried, and this time it stuck. Mom always complained that Dad was a little uncouth: "why are you kicking me under the table?" but theirs was a true love match.

By that time Dad was working for RCA as an engineer and they moved to England where their first daughter, Lucille, was born. After that they moved to the Marshall Islands where their second daughter, Linette, was born. They also lived in Camarillo, New York, and New Jersey. Dad retired from RCA in 1983 and moved back to Camarillo. After that "retirement" he went to work for Litton and then finally for the Department of the Navy at Point Mugu, from which he retired for good in 1993. Dad's work for the Aegis missile system was difficult and required great precision and patience, which he had aplenty. It contributed greatly to our nation's defense.

Dad was not a huge animal lover, but animals loved him: every pet we ever had gravitated to him, and he put up with them. Dad read the newspaper every day, reading the Wall Street Journal into his 90's. He taught himself all about any subject he was interested in. Dad was a master gardener with an intuitive understanding of plants and an encyclopedic knowledge of them and their Latin names. When we were children at one time he built a greenhouse and had over 400 orchids. Later in life he was particularly fond of the succulent class Euphorbia and had an extensive collection of plants. Dad was a huge stamp collector for over 40 years and spent hours collecting and cataloging over 100,000 stamps. Dad went through spurts of feeling artistic and painted in oil. Some of his paintings were horrible, but his paintings of buildings are particularly good. When we were children he was into photography and had his own darkroom. He also made jewelry briefly. Dad was a talented musician. He played clarinet as a kid and sang tenor in barbershop quartets and choirs for decades.

Dad had a thirst to experience life and see what was out there. As kids Dad brought us on hikes, on picnics, to the beach, to museums, to local points of interest, to flea markets, to junkshops, to graveyards, to pick your own fruit orchards, heck, we even stopped at historical markers. Once driving from Chicago to New Jersey he drove 24 hours straight because he wouldn't stop for a hotel when we begged him to and then when he did want to stop, we couldn't find one with a vacancy. Dad taught us how to have fun and take risks. Like many men, he refused to stop and look at a map when lost (even though he had a huge map collection) and would just keep driving, exclaiming: "we're lost!" "we're going 180 degrees in the wrong direction!" which of course upset Mom and then five seconds later: "oh, there it is" while Mom did the slow, but never silent, burn.

Dad was a jovial, well-liked person, who was extremely optimistic about life. The glass was always half full. Dad believed in himself. He wanted this world to be a better place and he rejoiced in the small things that were beautiful in life, like a beautiful tree or a flower. He would look at a tree or even a weed breaking through the concrete and say "that's the power of nature". But more than just optimism, Dad was truly grateful for all his blessings in life. He told me how grateful he was for his parents and for his brothers and sisters, even though many of them have been dead for decades. He was grateful for his loving wife, children, and grandchildren. He was grateful for his beautiful life and the home he had for many years. He loved his creature comforts: his coffee, his stamps, his dog! He used to say, "we live better now than the Kings and Queens of England!" And he was right.

The family wishes the thank Dad's wonderful caregiver, Brenda Ramirez, without whom Dad's last three years would not have been as happy and as rich. Dad's memorial service will be held on Wednesday, July 6 at 11:00 a.m. at Mount Cross Lutheran Church in Camarillo.