Walter Raymond

Walter H. T. Raymond died November 17 in the Frederick Hospital after suffering congestive heart failure. He was 67.  The second of three children, he was born on April 21, 1945, in Summit, NJ, and grew up in Denville, NJ. He was the son of the late Walter H. T. Raymond and Mary Wasylyshyn Raymond, who survives him.

An alumnus of Morris Hills Regional High School, Mr. Raymond graduated From Penn State University in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics.  While at Penn State he was an active member of Sigma Pi fraternity and played for the University’s Rugby Club.

After graduation he took a job in New York City where he lived in an apartment in the East Village. In 1972 as an innocent by-stander, he was critically injured during an armed robbery. As a result of his injuries, he was left a quadriplegic. After a long rehabilitation at the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation in New York, he returned to live with his parents in Harper’s Ferry, WV. While acclimating to life in the country, Mr. Raymond realized that he had to refocus his life. He decided to enroll in Shepard College earning a degree in Computer Science. With that degree and an indomitable will to succeed he rebuilt his life. For the next thirty years he was able to work for a succession of companies helping to manage satellite operations. In 2011 he retired from Computer Science Corporation located at Ft. Detrick in Frederick, MD.

Walter’s inquisitiveness and interest in nature and in American history fueled his curiosity about our past as well as our natural environment.  During his life he enjoyed nature photography and catch-and-release fishing.  He was also very interested in model airplanes and was an active remote-controlled-airplane enthusiast.

Mr. Raymond is survived by his mother, Mary Raymond of Frederick, MD, by a brother David Raymond of Cockeysville, MD, a sister, Marusia Raymond Zearfoss of Middletown, MD, as well as by many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held at St. Joseph-on-Carrollton Manor, 5843 Manor Woods Rd., Frederick, MD Monday, December 17, 2012 at 1 PM.    Because Walter grew up in New Jersey and had a great love of New York City, the family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the American Red Cross for the Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund.

---