Obituary of Raymond L. Fleury

"Raymond L. Fleury, 78, of South Hadley was called safely home on Sunday, APRIL 1, 2007 at Baystate Medical Center. Born in Holyoke on January 12, 1929, he was the beloved son of the late Horace and Rhea (Pelletier) Fleury. He attended Mount Carmel School and Chicopee Vocational in Willimansett and lived the Fairview area for 13 years. He also lived in the Bemis Heights area of Holyoke for 30 years, moving to South Hadley in 1997. He served in the US Navy aboard the destroyer USS Walke DD 723, partaking in the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands of the Pacific in July 1946 known as operation Cross Roads. He joined the active Marine Reserves in 1949 and was activated to duty in June 1950 at the outbreak of the Korean Conflict. Ray served 18 months stateside and was released in November 1951 and received his honorable discharge from First Naval District in 1953. Ray worked as an assistant foreman at Hodges Fibre in Holyoke and also operated Ray’s Atlantic Gas Station on East Street in Springfield for 7 years. He retired in 1992 as a 30-year Road Freight brakeman, conductor and dispatcher for the Boston & Albany Division of The New York Central/Penn Central and Conrail now known as CSX. He was a communicant of St. Patrick’s Church and a member of its Men’s Club. He was also a member of the American Legion Post #438, the Tuesday Night Pitch Club at the South Hadley Council on Aging, the USS Walke Reunion Association, the Tin Can Sailors, National Association of Atomic Veterans and the United Transportation Union. He leaves his beloved wife, Carol (Bernard) of 54 years, and their loving children, Carolanne Bright and her husband James of South Hadley, Kevin and his wife Rosemary of Haverhill, Raymond B. Fleury and his wife Sandra of Holyoke and David and his wife Amy of Portsmouth, RI. His nine grandchildren Joshua Fleury and his wife Allison, Dr. Matthew Fontaine, Heather, Holly and Luke Fleury, Deanna Albert, Gabriella Hartwell, and Alison and Collin Bright; along with his five great grandchildren, Michaela Denoncourt, Mia and Ava Fleury, twins, Abigail and Emma Dominguez also survive him. His sister, Denise Beaudry and her husband Howard of Cape Cod and Vero Beach, FL, sisters in law, Lorraine Curley, Janice Devine and her husband Donald, and Mary Bernard along with many nieces and nephews also survive him. Sisters in laws Veronica Skelly, Madeline McClean and Geraldine Posner and brothers in law Joseph Bernard, Daniel Skelly, Jack McClean, Ret. Maj. Gen. Jack Posner and Patrick Curley also predeceased him. A Mass of Christian Liturgy will be on Thursday, April 5 at 11:00 am at St. Patrick Church in South Hadley. Burial will follow in the Mass. Veteran’s Memorial Cemetery in Agawam. Calling hours are Wednesday from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. with a Remembrance Service at 7:00 at the Beers and Story South Hadley Funeral Home, 646 Newton St. Memorial donations may be made in Ray’s memory to The Shriner’s Hospital 516 Carew Street, Springfield, MA 01104."