Our beloved father, grandfather and great grandfather, Thomas Raymond Williamson, passed away on June 13, 2020. Ray was born Apr 3, 1929 in Calgary, AB to Florence (nee Harrison) and John Williamson. He was prematurely born at 3lbs, but that never slowed him down. Ray joined the Royal Canadian Navy at 17 and served for 5 years. He was based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia and began his aircraft maintenance engineer apprenticeship aboard the air carrier, The Magnificent, where he worked on Sea Fury aircraft.
He is survived by his children, Lynne (Mike) and Tom (Melinda), grandchildren Ben (Melea), Katie (Adam), Lindsay (Tyler) and Brad (Libby), and great-grandchildren Ruby, Theodora, Philippa, Rowan and Paige. Ray is predeceased by his wife, Jennie, and siblings, LeEtta, Jack, Vivian and Ron.
Ray met the love of his life, Jennie (nee Latocki), in Lynn Lake, MB, where she was working as a nurse. Jennie shared Ray’s sense of adventure and kept him in line. They were married on Oct 16, 1954 in Brooklyn, MB and moved to North Vancouver, where Ray worked as a helicopter engineer. They moved to Kamloops in 1962, where Ray worked for Okanagan Helicopters for the rest of his career. Ray famously named his stubborn shih-tzu Sikorsky, after the helicopters he worked on.
Ray was an avid traveller who worked all over the world. He loved to share stories of his adventures. His open and friendly demeanour allowed him to easily make connections with many different people. Ray and Jennie particularly loved Thailand, where he worked for a long period of time.
Ray’s pride and joy were his four grandchildren. He was at every game, practice and recital they ever had. He loved driving his grandkids to Sun Peaks, Shuswap Lake, 6am hockey practices, and anywhere else their hearts desired. Ray and Jennie enjoyed taking all four grandchildren to Parksville in the summertime to play on the beaches. Ray dedicated his retired life to his grandkids, who all have many fond memories to look back on.
Ray was an active member of the Kamloops community. He was a volunteer for KIBIHT, BC Winter Games, coached for KMHA, and was a Blazers season ticket holder for over 30 years. He was social, kind, and charismatic. Ray loved to chat and could find the goodness in everyone. Ray valued family, community, and worked hard to always give back.
Ray brought out the best in people and is missed very much. Ray’s ashes will be laid to rest in Parksville so he can be reunited with his wife. Together they will sail off into the sunset. Donations can be made to Marjorie Willoughby Snowden Hospice in Ray’s honour.
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Rae Anderson
I offer my sincere condolences to all of you for the loss of such a wonderful man as Ray. I had the pleasure of getting to know both him and Jenny, and enjoyed every day I had with them. Please know that I am thinking of all of you at this time. Rae Anderson
Peter Poeschek
Tom, we were saddened to hear of loss of Ray. He was always a pleasure to talk to about hockey and soccer. Sincere condolences to the Williamson family.
Peter and Robin Poeschek