I recently heard of Ray's passing and wish to offer my most sincere and heartfelt sympathy to the Christian Family.  I was Ramond's  secretary for close to 12 years. I enjoyed working for him and with him. He was always easy to talk to even when I goofed up. He was always kind and understanding especially when I had to take a leave of absence twice for family emergency. He was a genuine great boss and a wonderful person, and the first boss I ever shared recipes with.
 RIP Raymond, and knowing you I am sure God is wearing a uniform.  
You are never to be forgotten!
Terri

We are sad to hear about Ray's passing. As neighbors who barely knew him; spoke only a few times to say hello. We noticed the place seemed quiet and wondered if he was ok. We admired his devotion to nature and interest in photography. Condolences to his family.

Karen and Ed Gross

Ray and I were friends for 55 years, right up to 4 days before his passing. We spent a lot of time together in high school and after, until I moved to Maine. We had many of the same interests,  dreams of the future, girls (an especially scary subject in early high school), racing cars and driving way too fast, construction projects we'd experienced, gardening, antiques, and music. We spent a lot of hours practicing drums in his basement.
Ray and I were in the Service at almost the same times. We discharged almost the same month, and discussed our military experiences alone together, mostly alone because soldiers were a very hated place to be in the eyes of the country back then. I remember one story he told me of his war experience. He trained as a heavy equipment operator, and spent many months building and maintaining the runways at his base of operations. He would be driving a bulldozer, filling up the holes from bombs dropped or planted by North Vietnamese soldiers. He would be in the 'dozer listening to the "pings" of bullets as people shot at him while he drove. I thought he was terribly brave. After he returned he would discuss his experiences, and what he witnessed in the war. I knew parts of my friend had been damaged in very painful ways, and he suffered from what we now call PTSD. I salute him for his service to the country, at a time where such service was denigrated. 
Through the years we kept in touch, sharing current circumstances, relationships, successes, sadness, and dreams for the future. One thing we spoke of in depth were our respective houses, construction projects and renovations we were proud of.
I want to thank Ray's sister Kim, who notified me of Ray's passing, and our chats afterward discussing our shared experience and feelings about Ray. We loved each other like brothers. I will miss him a lot for the person he was, the kindness, gentleness, and his warm feelings for others in his life. My condolences to Ray's family.
RIP, Ray.







Ray and I grew up on the same street in Old Westbury,  Fox Hollow Lane. I had lost touch with my old friend until we reunited at our 50th high school reunion. Boy was I glad to renew our friendship. The last 3 years have been a real comedy fest with Ray's humor and jokes. His light-hearted ways have uplifted my spirits many a day. I now have a huge library of Rayisms that will serve to keep his memory strong and a smile on my face.
Bob Forte

During those often difficult years in junior high school and high school, Ray was a friend of mine. We swam in the pool together, climbed trees (yes, boys did that in those days), even tried to get Ray's go-cart running (more time pushing than riding). Most importantly we talked about our lives and our dreams. We often sat in the pool house out back, or walked through the woods when we talked. Ray always had a clear, and often humorous take on events, particularly those at school. Later we talked a lot about girls, and even later, after he returned from Vietnam, he told me a few things about that as well. It was only after hearing about his passing that I realized how much he influenced my life. In  getting through those difficult years of school, he was a friend of mine. 

AVIS DE DÉCÈS

Raymond E. Christian

21 mars 1948 – 13 décembre 2018

Vernon C. Wagner Funeral Homes

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