Raymond Lundbech, 1921 - 2018

My Dad passed away at 96 last Monday, June 18 2018.
Here's his obituary which will appear today in the local paper.

Raymond Lundbech, 96, Bristol, Vermont

Raymond J. Lundbech passed away peacefully June 18, 2018, at Helen Porter Nursing Home, with his wife of sixty-six years, his daughter, and his son-in-law with him until the last few minutes of his life.
Ray was born in Cardiff, Wales, December 8, 1921, the son of a Danish immigrant and a Welsh mother. His father, Gudmund, was a master cabinet maker, but work was scarce in the the decade following the First World War and his mother, Catherine, often worked away from home for weeks at a time as a housekeeper in order to support the family. His sister Joan was born in 1924 and Ray and Joan remained devoted, admiring siblings for as long as they lived. Tragically, Gudmund died of a heart attack in his late 30s, and Catherine was hit by a car and suffered brain injuries not long after that. Ray and Joan were sent to live with their Aunt Lena, and there they stayed for years, part of a large, noisy, musical family that fought and sang equally. Ray played piano for all the parties, and in those long ago days when almost every house had a piano, he was a popular guest who could (as his wife later remarked) have everyone in the room singing along in no time at all.
After running away to London at sixteen with his cousin, he rashly signed up as a cabin-boy/cook on a South American trawler, but that sea-going adventure did not give him a taste for the Navy and when World War Two broke out he enlisted in the Royal Air Force. Due to his poor vision he was unable to fly aircraft, but spent the war years as a radio operator in Kasfareet, Egypt where he met friends that he cherished all his life.
After the war he settled in London, England, and was employed by the Internal Revenue Service. Coming into a pub one night he spotted a lovely young lady across the room, and at the top of his lungs he hollered, “Who is that gorgeous woman?!!” She was mortified, but twelve weeks later he had proposed to Hazel Gregory and she accepted - their love bonded by their mutual delight in music, books, and laughter, which remained with them for all of their marriage. They married exactly one year to the date of their meeting, and in the next four years two children were born to them, Deborah in 1954 and Nicholas in 1956.
Two years after that they moved to a small town not far from London onto a dead end street where the family had the great fortune to meet a neighborhood full of people with young children who all loved to sing around the piano, and the parties that were held on Woodlands Avenue were legendary. in 1964, seeking new adventures, the family, along with their next door neighbors, the Browns, emigrated to the United States where the family again had the good fortune to connect to wonderful neighbors, the Jamiesons, who lived downstairs and were also British immigrants - and who generously showed the “greenhorns” the ins and outs of American living. Ray and Hazel made their home in New Haven, Connecticut for forty- six years where Ray worked as an office manager and also, for many years, played piano in clubs throughout eastern Connecticut. His piano playing at parties continued to delight friends and family, and it was remarkable the number of teenage friends who learned the words to “Boiled Beef and Carrots” and “Oklahoma”.
In 2010 Ray and Hazel moved up to Vermont to be closer to family, and settled happily in Bristol where Ray lived until he moved to Helen Porter in April 2017, due to failing health.
Ray leaves his wife Hazel of Bristol, Vt., children Deborah and her husband Brian of Bristol,Vt., Nicholas and his wife Ann, of Phoenix, AZ, seven grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren, and many beloved relatives and friends in England and Wales.
At Ray’s request there will be no service, but a private family gathering will be held at a later date. Contributions in his memory to a non-profit agency supporting literacy or classical music are greatly appreciated. The family wishes to thank all the staff at Helen Porter Nursing Home for their care and the many kindnesses shown to Ray during his stay.