Captain Raymond E. Demming Jr.

Captain Raymond E. Demming, Jr., USNR (retired), died at age 98 in Middletown, R.I., surrounded by his family. He was born in Sherman, New York on February 9, 1928. After graduating from Buffalo East High School in June of 1946, he joined the Navy Holloway Midshipman program and studied Engineering for two years at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In June 1948 he was ordered to NAS Pensacola, Florida for Navy flight training and earned his Navy wings of gold in May 1950. He was then assigned to Attack Squadron 15 in Jacksonville, Florida. During his three years of sea duty, he flew the AD Skyraider and the F4U Corsair from various aircraft carriers including the USS Coral Sea, USS Leyte, USS Wasp, USS Oriskany and USS Lake Champlain. He made deployments to both the Mediterranean and the Caribbean Seas. In Jacksonville he met and married Ensign Lois Boleyn, a Navy nurse from Lexington, Mass.

Following sea duty, Captain Demming was ordered to Pensacola as a flight instructor. At the end of the Korean War, he returned to Rensselaer, where he earned an aeronautical engineering degree in 1956. While in the Navy Reserves, he served at NAS Alamitos, California and NAS South Weymouth, Mass, and held three commands: Attack Squadron 912, NAS Reserve Brunswick and VTU 9191 (Volunteer Training Unit). He continued flying various aircraft, including the S2 Tracker, and the A4 Skyhawk.

In civilian life, he was employed by North American Aviation Missile Development in Downey, CA, followed by AVCO Missile Division in Wilmington, Mass, and General Electric Aircraft Engine Division in Lynn, Mass. He and his family lived in Peabody, Mass for 34 years (1958-1992). Mr. Demming served as a deacon at the West Congregational Church and was the Chairman of the Peabody Conservation Commission. In 1992 he and his wife, Lois moved to Orange Park, Florida.

Captain Demming joined the Constitution Museum Foundation and the Pensacola Naval Aviation Museum Foundation. He was an active member of the Flying Midshipman Association, the Bald Eagle Squadron of the Association of Naval Aviation, the Wardroom Club of Boston, Mass., the Retired Military Officers Association, and was a faithful member of the Orange Park Methodist Church.

He is survived by his three children, Commander David Demming, USN, Retired, (Debra) of Portsmouth, R.I., Susan Irvin (Ward) of Marietta, Georgia, and Debbie Derbyshire (Kenneth) of Dripping Springs, Texas. He also leaves six grandchildren and seventeen great-grandchildren. His dear wife of 65 years, Lois, pre-deceased him in 2017.

Captain Demming will be interred at the National Cemetery, Bourne, Cape Cod, Mass.