Raymond C. Dee Obituary Jan 26, 2021 - Yardley & Pino Funeral Home, Inc.

Obituary

Raymond C. Dee, of Naples, Florida, son of the late Coleman F. and Patricia (nee Sheridan)

Dee, surrounded by his family, died peacefully at home on January 26, 2021 from complications

of myelodysplastic syndrome. He was 78 years old.

Raymond was born on April 6, 1942 in the Bronx, NY and attended St. Bonaventure University

in Olean, NY where he graduated in 1964 with a bachelor's degree in economics. Raymond was

commissioned into the United States Army as a 2nd Lieutenant from the SBU ROTC program

and left service after five years in 1968 with the rank of Captain. Ray earned his MBA from

Loyola University in Chicago in 1972 and was named trustee emeritus upon his departure from

the St. Bonaventure University Board of Trustees, which he served on from 2000-2015, the last

three years as chair. He was additionally awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters

from St Bonaventure University in 2016.

Ray's long and storied career in the aluminum industry began with Alcoa in 1969. He held

several positions in the company before he and a small group bought a closed Alcoa plant in

Cressona, PA, and founded Cressona Aluminum Company in 1979. The company would

become the largest independent aluminum extruder in the United States. Ray, initially Vice

President of Sales, became Executive Vice President and a member of the board. Cressona

Aluminum was sold in 1996. The following year Ray became managing director of British

Aluminium in the United Kingdom. He ran the extrusion operations for three years before

returning to the states to join another start-up business, Service Center Metals, an extrusion

company in Prince George, Virginia. Ray served as chair of the company's board of directors,

and was past chair of another aluminum company, Alexin, of Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Ray was active in the many communities in which he resided including Naples, FL, Sag Harbor,

NY and Pottsville, PA. He was an active member of Pelican Marsh Golf Club, the La Playa

Beach Club "Tiki Bar" and St. John the Evangelist Church. Ray was a member of the Sag

Harbor Yacht Club, president of Genet Creek, a member of the Noyac Golf Club, served on the

board of the Cedar Island Lighthouse restoration project and was an active member of St.

Andrew's Roman Catholic Church. He served as council president at St. John the Baptist

Church in Pottsville; was a member of the board at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center;

was board chair at Seton Manor, a senior living facility associated with the Diocese of Allentown,

PA, was a board member and former chair of the Foundation for Free Enterprise Education and

served on the board of Alvernia University in Reading, PA.

Ray was a devout Catholic intent on living his faith in his daily life. He was a gregarious,

generous man with a humble nature, a quick wit, an engaging sense of humor and a firm

handshake. He was always happy to extend his arms and welcome his children's friends as

family. He will be remembered for the twinkle in his sparkling blue eyes and the simple things he

loved most in life: quiet moments with his wife, a beautiful sunset, a ride on his boat, family

gatherings, evenings around a roaring fire, good food and drink and spending time at the local

pubs with his beloved cousins in Doon, Ireland.
Ray's greatest successes in his life were his 56 year marriage to his beloved wife Maureen and

his six amazing children Kathleen (Jeff Brown), Maureen (Art Howard), Denise, Michael (Rachel

Early), Marybeth, and Colleen (Steve Pole) and his grandchildren- Thomas Howard, Katherine

Howard, Jack Brown, Brenna Howard, Jane Howard, Ryan Brown, Colin Dee, Lauren Pole,

Coleman Dee, Matthew Pole, Nathan Dee, Meghan Pole & Bridget Pole. He was known by

many nicknames and titles over the years but his favorite was "Pop" to his 13 grandchildren.

In addition to his immediate family, Ray is survived by his sister Mary (Greg) Churchill, brother in

law John Kane (Mary Ann), seven nieces, five nephews, great nieces and nephews, cousins,

Cousins-once-removed and an immeasurable number of friends.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Yardley & Pino Funeral Home, Sag Harbor, NY. A

funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021, at 12 noon at St. Andrew's Church, Sag

Harbor. Due to circumstances surrounding COVID-19, church capacity is limited to 110

attendees. Knowing that Ray was loved by so many, a celebration of his life will be held at a

later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be sent to Sag Harbor Ambulance Volunteer

Corps, Inc. PO Box 2725, Sag Harbor, NY 11963; the Sag Harbor Food Pantry PO Box 1241,

Sag Harbor, NY 11963; or St. Bonaventure University endowed scholarship fund in Ray's name

PO Box 2519, St. Bonaventure, NY 14778

Ray's greatest successes in his life were his 56 year marriage to his beloved wife Maureen and

his six amazing children Kathleen (Jeff Brown), Maureen (Art Howard), Denise, Michael (Rachel

Early), Marybeth, and Colleen (Steve Pole) and his grandchildren- Thomas Howard, Katherine

Howard, Jack Brown, Brenna Howard, Jane Howard, Ryan Brown, Colin Dee, Lauren Pole,

Coleman Dee, Matthew Pole, Nathan Dee, Meghan Pole & Bridget Pole. He was known by

many nicknames and titles over the years but his favorite was "Pop" to his 13 grandchildren.

In addition to his immediate family, Ray is survived by his sister Mary (Greg) Churchill, brother in

law John Kane (Mary Ann), seven nieces, five nephews, great nieces and nephews, cousins,

Cousins-once-removed and an immeasurable number of friends.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Yardley & Pino Funeral Home, Sag Harbor, NY. A

funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021, at 12 noon at St. Andrew's Church, Sag

Harbor. Due to circumstances surrounding COVID-19, church capacity is limited to 110

attendees. Knowing that Ray was loved by so many, a celebration of his life will be held at a

later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be sent to Sag Harbor Ambulance Volunteer

Corps, Inc. PO Box 2725, Sag Harbor, NY 11963; the Sag Harbor Food Pantry PO Box 1241,

Sag Harbor, NY 11963; or St. Bonaventure University endowed scholarship fund in Ray's name

PO Box 2519, St. Bonaventure, N

To plant a memorial tree in memory, please visit our tree store.

Raymond C.

Dee

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