Raymond Lee Poston

Raymond L. Poston Jr., prominent lawyer, real estate developer and longtime Washingtonian died on October 10, 2017 of natural causes. He was 96. Born in Wiehle, Virginia (now Reston) in 1920, Mr. Poston grew up in very modest circumstances and endured the Great Depression. After graduating from Herndon High School, he obtained a secretarial degree from Strayer Business College and ended up working in the Pentagon. In 1943, he enlisted in the US Navy where by war’s end he rose to the rank of Lieutenant. He remained in the Naval Reserves for 30 years and ended his service with the rank of Commander. After World War II, through the GI bill, he obtained his college degree and then his law degree from George Washington University. He opened his own law practice where he initially specialized in representing military personnel in a variety of civil matters. While his law practice thrived, he found his true professional calling in the real estate world. He had a special knack for identifying under-valued commercial and residential properties, renovating and modernizing them to attract tenants and ultimately selling them.

In 1960, his life changed when a woman named Gretchen Householder answered his ad seeking secretarial help. Within months, he informed Ms. Householder that he could no longer employ her, because he wanted to marry her. They wed on December 30, 1960, had four children and remained married until Mrs. Poston’s death in 1992. Mrs. Poston became social secretary to the White House in the Carter administration, leading Mr. Poston to marvel at the arc of his life from its modest beginning to attending White House functions.

Besides his family, he loved baseball and tennis. He could recall in vivid detail attending his first Washington Senators game with his father in 1934 and seeing Hank Greenberg hit a homerun. He took up tennis in the 1950s and played for years at the Washington Hilton tennis club on Connecticut Avenue. In 1974 he purchased a property on Fessenden Street NW and built a clay court in the back. He then formed a club with fellow tennis enthusiasts. Mr Poston played regularly until he was 88.

He is survived by his four children, Jeffrey (Cathy) of Bethesda Md, Carol Crisco of Jacksonville Florida, Ramsey of Washington DC, Katharene Snavely (Geoff) of Annapolis Maryland and seven loving grandchildren, William Poston, Gretchen Poston, Jack Poston, Alexandra Snavely, Ella Snavely, Max Crisco and Ava Poston. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Mr. Poston’s name to the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy or the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. A memorial service will be held at St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church on Friday, October 27, 2017. Visitation at 9:30 a.m. Mass at 10:00 a.m.