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Raymond Gordon Johnson
Born March 23, 1915; Married July 17, 1940
(Karin
Ruth
Dahlin, d. Dec 12, 1982) ;
Married 1985 (Shiela); Died December 24, 1999
Children: Raymond Gordon Johnson, Jr., October
30,
1942;
Randall Lawrence Johnson,
June 23, 1947 (d. June 26, 1947); Arlis Ruth Johnson
Kramer, September 18, 1948 (d. April 20, 2011)
Raymond Gordon Johnson was the third child of
Oscar and Ruth
Johnson,
born March 23,1915 in Chicago, Ill.
At age 2 he moved with the family to
a farm near La Porte, Indiana, to
enjoy the benefits of country living.
In 1928 the family moved to
Michigan City, Indiana, where Raymond graduated
from Michigan City High School in 1933. Following graduation and
two
years
of employment at Portis Hat Factory, he left Michigan City for
Bridgeport,
Connecticut, to join his brother Gilbert. He
worked
primarily during those
depression years as a salesman for Dugan Brothers Bakery.
In 1938 he met Karin Ruth Dahlin, and they were
married on
July 17,
1940. They purchased the house in
Milford, Connecticut, which has been home
ever since and moved in on Pearl Harbor Day, December 7, 1941. In support
of the defense effort, Ray joined Sikorsky Aircraft in 1942. During these
years they were active in the church life of the Baptist Temple in
Bridgeport.
A son, Raymond Jr., was born to Karin and
Raymond
on October
30, 1942.
Their daughter, Arlis Ruth, was born on September 18, 1948.
As the children grew older, the family moved
their
church
membership
closer to home to Grace Baptist Church in Milford,
Connecticut. Here
Ray directed the choir for nearly twenty years.
In 1973, with 30 years at Sikorsky, Ray took an
early
retirement
and established his own business, DeRiter Services (that's
"Retired"
spelled backwards). He serves as a Manufacturer's
Representative for
several small manufacturing companies and also as a distributor of
machine
shop work to various independent machinists. He continues to be
active
in
this business, preferring activity to a rocking chair retirement.
In May, 1979 Karin was diagnosed as having
cancer. This was followed
by surgery, radiation and another year of fairly good health. The cancer
was discovered again in 1981. Following
18
months of chemotherapy
and
gradually deteriorating health, Karin died at Connecticut Hospice
on
December 12, 1982.
Ray continues to enjoy good health, runs the
business, plays
with
his grandchildren, and serves as trustee and handyman at Grace
Baptist
Church.
- Raymond Johnson, 1984
Ray, Jr. adds the following about himself and his sister:
Ray, Jr., was born in Bridgeport, Conn., and
grew
up in
nearby Milford,
Conn., attending Milford public schools.
He graduated from Worcester
Polytechnic Institute in 1964, majoring in
electrical engineering. He
joined
Sikorsky Aircraft, working in the design and testing of automatic
pilots and
electronic flight controls for helicopters. He
married
Ruth Anne Walton in
1969. They have a son, Eric
Daniel, born September 10, 1975. Ruth currently
serves as Children's Director at Grace Baptist Church, Milford,
Conn.
Arlis was also born in Bridgeport and raised in
Milford. She graduated
from Nyack College in 1970, with a major in vocal music.
In 1972 she married
Charles Edward
Kramer, whom she met at Nyack.
They have three children:
Karin Eleta, born April 9, 1977; David
Charles, born March 31, 1981; and
Lisa Ruth, born April 12, 1984.
Arlis is currently the Music Director at
Grace Baptist Church, Milford, Conn.
- Ray Johnson, Jr.,
1984
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