Raymond Ray Torreggiani

Ray was born on March 11, 1952 in Yonkers, New York. He was the first born son of Alice and Raymond Torreggiani (father died May, 1995). Ray had one younger sister named Donna Marie. His mother tells stories of how he walked by the age of nine months and how advanced he was in all ways, just as a proud mother should feel.

Growing up, Ray loved his German Shepherd, Sandy. He always loved animals and they loved him.

Ray was a man of strong faith who loved and respected God. He attended church regularly throughout his childhood. Some of his fondest memories were those of being an altar boy and commentator at church every week.

Throughout his life, Ray loved sports – all sports. As a boy, he surrounded himself with many friends and found joy in simple games like stick ball, dodge ball, kick the can, ring-a-levio, football, baseball, basketball, stoop ball, kick ball…pretty much anything with a ball that a boy could dream of! Riding his bike with his friends was another one of his favorite activities. His favorite team was the New York Yankees, even as far back as a toddler. During the World Series in 1955, Ray (at 3 years old) ran around the house shouting, “Hogie Herra hit a homer!” He was referring to his idol, Yogi Berra, who he admired throughout his life. Yogi would eventually die close to one week before Ray did, something that Ray referred to often through the years, for reasons that were never quite understood.

Ray attended St. Joseph’s Catholic Elementary School in Yonkers, New York through 8th grade. He then attended Archbishop Stepinac Catholic High School in White Plains, New York. Again, sports were his passion as he medaled in track, excelled in baseball and loved playing football. His intelligence and ease of learning, earned him a place in the National Honor Society, something of which he was very proud. Ray graduated in 1970 and often spoke of the happy times he and his Dad worked on cars and helped run his father’s gas station. Ray and his father always had a close, loving relationship, and their time together was cherished.

He attended Pace University in Pleasantville, New York for one year but was forced to stop because of high tuition costs. Not graduating college was one of his regrets, because education was always so important to Ray. This was a dream he would eventually experience through his daughters obtaining their degrees. He was so very proud of Lisa and Jessie on their graduation days.

Ray often spoke of his very first vacation at 16 years old, taken with his mother to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Through the years, he took many more vacations to places like Cancun and Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, Hawaii, Florida, California, Las Vegas and cruises to Mexico, Hawaii and the Caribbean. Ray loved any vacation destination that centered on warmth, the beach, palm trees, and beautiful blue oceans!

From 1972 through 1974, Ray took an adventurous road trip in his 1970 Ford Mustang and moved to Arizona for a job opportunity. It was then that he fell in love with the State of Arizona, vowing to move back one day. Shortly after, he moved back to New York where he started working for American Can Company in Greenwich, Connecticut. Again, Ray immersed himself into his work and his love of playing softball. He not only played but also coached the company’s team to multiple championships. In 1974 they won the City Title Championship and came in third in State.

In 1975, he became assistant manager of Hartsdale Cinema I movie theater. It was his responsibility to hire new employees when he came across the application of Diane Diaco, who he hired and would marry two years later. Fate brought them together and a great love kept them going through forty years together, until his death.

His love of sports and cars made a huge impact on his life. His first car was a 1958 blue Chevy Impala that he and his father re-built together. On June 5, 1970, Ray purchased the car of his dreams – a blue 1970 Ford Mustang Super Cobra Jet. In his later years, a love of classic cars would reignite and become his passion once again. He purchased, at the Barrett-Jackson Auction, a 1969 yellow Classic Camaro Yenko and later, on his birthday in 2003, a 1969 red Mustang Mach I. Much to the worry of his family, he also owned and rode a black/silver Harley Davidson Fat Boy, anniversary edition 2003. It was a happy day for Diane when that bike was sold!

After dating for two years, on September 24, 1977, he and Diane married in Elmsford, New York at Mt. Carmel Catholic Church. After a road trip honeymoon to Toronto, Canada, he and Diane moved into their very first home, a single-wide mobile home in Dover Plains, New York. A funny story he often told was when he took his very pregnant wife, Diane, on a vacation to Lake George, New York. He was so excited to show her this “fabulous” motel he had stayed at years before with his best friend, John Ryan. Unfortunately, the motel was not as he remembered and was extremely run down and dirty. Sleeping and showering was a challenge, but they still managed to have a fun time and laugh about the experience! He and Diane would be together for forty years when he passed. Their marriage was one of love, affection, respect and deep trust and friendship. Ray always made Diane laugh with his corny jokes and witty sense of humor. She especially enjoyed when he laughed at himself! After living upstate New York for a while, they decided that because the commute was so long and difficult, they needed to move back closer to their jobs and into a one-bedroom apartment in Hartsdale, New York. It was there that their first daughter Lisa Lynn was born on September 23, 1980.

Everyone who knew Ray felt instantly that he was a man of character, strength, intelligence, strong morals and kindness. Ray was not an outspoken man, so when he did have something to say, others listened carefully as his words were always very significant. Most of the time, his spoken words were exactly what was needed. Ray was the voice of reason, the calm in the storm, and he strived to never be cruel or judge others.

In 1982 after leaving New York and moving to Colorado, Ray started working at Silco Oil Co. in Denver, Colorado – his first day on his 30th birthday. Failure was not an option for Ray as he was ambitious, determined, dedicated, loyal and was willing to put in long hours and hard work.

On May 12, 1985, Ray and Diane welcomed their second daughter Jessica Rae. They all enjoyed a happy, loving family relationship through the years. Although Ray worked quite a bit during those times, he never missed a dance recital, sporting event, school function, vacation or holidays with his girls. His incentive was to provide his family with a secure financial future, something that Ray continued to pursue even past retirement. He and Diane worked as a team to ensure their family was loved and provided for physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially. The Torreggiani Family home was a very happy place to grow up as love and forgiveness was abundant and laughter flowed often. Ray prided himself in acting extra silly during the holidays. Whether he put on his daughter’s Easter bonnet and skipped around the back yard looking ridiculous, or sang at the top of his lungs during Christmas to the music of Spike Jones. He was especially good at sounding exactly like the child-like voice on the songs, something he continued to perform every year, eventually even with his granddaughters.

In September of 1992, the owner of Silco, his boss, mentor and father figure to him, Don Roth, made the decision to sell the company and name Ray as CEO of Silco Oil Co. All those years of hard work and dedication finally paid off professionally for Ray. Fortunately for others, Ray was always true to his word and loyal to everyone, whether personally or professionally. He often did all he could to help not only his employees but their families as well. Never did anyone who worked for or with Ray speak unkindly of him, but instead, he was admired and even adored by those he knew throughout his career and life. His likeability, honesty and dependability made him a successful boss, partner and friend. Ray retired early when he and his partners sold the Company in September of 2003. It was then that he finally joined Diane and his family and moved to Arizona, the place he loved the best.

He worked very hard to build up his company into a huge success in order to provide for his family and their future. He spent many moments of those times of great stress using quiet solitude and inner reflection. Fortunately, those moods were few and laughter ensued quickly, as Ray had a gentle soul and rarely showed his temper or anger. Most often, he kept those emotions to himself until later in life as he mellowed and became more comfortable and open with his feelings. He never used foul language, but instead spoke calmly with reason and aimed to find solutions. Ray prided himself in athletics, and always tried to take good care of his body and health by staying slim, never smoking or drinking to excess.

Ray never turned down anyone who needed help, whether they needed a loan, a co-signer, sharing his home, sympathy, compassion, advice or counsel. There were, of course, a few people who took advantage of his generosity and kindness throughout the years. Although he was always disappointed, he always aimed at forgiving quickly and tried not to hold grudges.

Without a doubt, the loves of Ray’s life were his family. His wife Diane, his daughters, Lisa and Jessie, sons-in-law Kenny and Jon, and his five beautiful granddaughters, Kayla, Taylor, Emily, Ashley and Hannah were his reasons for everything he did. He loved spending time with his “girls” whether going to the park, snuggling watching TV, playing games, tea parties, singing and dancing to Elvis or oldies, or just plain silliness brought him more joy than imaginable. It was obvious to everyone Ray knew that he would do anything for them. He knew he spoiled them but did not care and still continued to dote on them. In his eyes, they were perfection and his reason for looking optimistically toward the future.

Besides being a life-long sports fan of hockey, football, baseball and bowling, while also enjoying an occasional golf game, Ray was also known for his love of animals, especially dogs. During the last years of his life, Mia and Zoe were his two “best friends” who followed him everywhere he went. When they died in 2014, losing them was very difficult for Ray. Ray did not deal well with illness or loss, as he loved so deeply and unconditionally. He grieved the loss his dogs every day, something only a dog lover could really understand.

In November of 2014, Ray was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. He fought hard and maintained a positive attitude. After re-diagnosis, his growing faith and continued acceptance of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, helped Ray to know that his fate was in God’s hands and knew he was going home, where he belonged. One of his biggest worries was that his granddaughters might not remember him, as they were so young. It took an incredible amount of strength for Ray to video record a message for each one of his granddaughters to be viewed when they were older; yet another example of his immeasurable love for them. Ray went home to be with our Lord on September 30, 2015 at Hospice of the Valley in Tempe, AZ. He was laid to rest at Valley of the Sun Mortuary and Cemetery in Chandler, Arizona where Diane will someday join him, side by side as they were always meant to be.

Ray died as he lived…..a true gentleman with dignity and grace. Quoting the words of Yogi Berra, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” ------ No Ray, It’s not over, it’s only the beginning……..