LESSIG, Col. Raymond Harry, USAF (Ret), 85, of Dayton, passed away on Dec. 23 in Ft. Myers, FL. He was preceded in death by his parents, Merrill and Josephine Lessig. Colonel Lessig is survived by his wife of 61 years, Rebecca Brooks Lessig; son, Merrill Lessig; daughter, Deborah (David) Butts and grandson, Matthew Lessig. Col. Lessig was born on June 26, 1928 in New Kensington, PA and attended Grove City College, Grove City, PA. He was appointed from PA and entered the Naval Academy in July, 1947. Graduating with the class of 1951, he chose to enter the Air Force. His first assignment was with the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project at Sandia Base, Albuquerque, NM. He served as the Nuclear Officer for the 2nd Tactical Support Squadron at Langley AFB, VA. He attended the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1955 and graduated with an M.S. in Nuclear Engineering in 1957. After training in Nuclear Radiation Shielding with the Atomic Energy Commission at Oak Ridge, TN, he was assigned to work on the construction of the Air Force Nuclear Engineering Test Facility Reactor at Wright-Patterson AFB. From 1961 to 1964 he studied Operations Research and Statistics at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Col. Lessig next reported to the Pentagon in 1964 in the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for R&D. In 1967 he was reassigned in Washington to the Office of Aerospace Research, and in 1968 was assigned to that organization’s Aerospace Research Laboratories at Wright-Patterson AFB as the Research Application’s Officer and later Director of the Applied Mathematics Laboratory. In 1971, after promotion to Colonel, he was assigned to the Aeronautics Systems Division at Wright-Patterson AFB as Director of Advanced Systems Concepts in the office of the Deputy for Development Planning, a post he held until his retirement in 1972. Col. Lessig worked as a private consultant until 1975. For the next ten years he was the Aerospace Education Instructor (AFJROTC) at Wayne High School in Huber Heights, retiring from that position in 1985. Since then he had divided his retirement living between Ft. Myers, FL and Dayton, spending six months at each location. Col. Lessig’s honors and decorations include the AF Commendation Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster and the National Defense Service Medal with one Bronze Star. Friends may call at the TOBIAS FUNERAL HOME – BEAVERCREEK CHAPEL, 3970 Dayton-Xenia Rd, on Monday, Dec. 30 from 6 – 8 pm. Funeral services will be held at 10 am on Tuesday, Dec. 31 at Woodland Mausoleum Chapel, 118 Woodland Ave with entombment immediately following. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions in Col. Lessig’s memory be made to The Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriorproject.org/Donate). Condolences to the family may be made online at www.tobiasfuneralhome.com.
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