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Raymond Edwin Overmire Jr.
Raymond Edwin OVERMIRE Jr. of Waverly, formerly of Lorain, passed away Feb
7, 2008, age 85. A descendant of Revolutionary War Capt. George Overmire as
well as Gov. William Bradford and 5 other passengers on the Mayflower, Ray
was born in Minneapolis, MN on January 30, 1923, to Raymond Edwin and
Lillian (Tifft) Overmire. He graduated from Huntington H.S., IN, where he
set four school records in track and was an All-State football star. He and
fullback Rex Grossman were dubbed "The Touchdown Twins." (Grossman's
grandson of the same name quarterbacked for the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl
XLI.)
Ray attended Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, OH, until he was
called for military duty. He served in World War II as an Ensign aboard the
aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill which was struck by two kamikazes off the
coast of Okinawa on May 11, 1945. During the attack, Ensign Overmire was
below decks sleeping in his bunk in the stern near the torpedo room,
off-duty from his assignment in the radar room of the control tower. Had he
been on duty, he likely would have been killed. He was doubly fortunate in
that the first kamikaze's bomb missed its target. Otherwise, the torpedo
room would have exploded and the whole stern of the ship blown apart. While
making his escape, Overmire stopped to give artificial respiration-in
vain-to a doomed sailor. Pressing on, with a coffee-drenched rag over his
mouth to breathe, he made his way through the thick black smoke and finally,
after an ordeal of several hours, reached the safety of the flight deck
above. Grateful for having survived, Ray vowed to lead a life of service to
God and his fellow man.
On June 27, 1945, he married Mary Lou Fast, the daughter of Irl and
Anna Mary (Shriver) Fast, in Cleveland Heights, OH. In the fall of '46, Ray
was stricken by polio, which caused permanent damage to his right leg. He
graduated from Ohio Wesleyan in 1948 and was a leader of Phi Delta Theta
Fraternity.
Ray had a long career as a YMCA executive serving branches in Alliance,
OH, Rochester, NY; Xenia, OH; Detroit, MI and finally the Lorain Family Y,
OH, from which he retired in 1989. Ray and Mary Lou moved to Bristol
Gardens Retirement Village in Waverly, OH, in 1995. Always active in the
church, Ray and Mary Lou were members of Northminster Presbyterian in Lorain
and Grace United Methodist in Waverly.
Ray was a tireless worker, a devoted father and husband, and a man of
great integrity and high principles. Determined to promote brotherhood, he
helped organize one of the first interracial fraternities in the country and
was the first to hire African-Americans and other minorities in some of the
Y's in which he served. "During my forty-one years of YMCA service," Ray
once wrote, "I have tried to emphasize the importance of character-building
group work and bridge-building interracial and interfaith activities among
youth and adults."
In recent years, Ray was a strong advocate for world peace, promoting
Christian ideals of love, kindness and forgiveness. He was a member of
Rotary, enjoyed stamp collecting and loved to listen to Glenn Miller and
other Big Bands.
He will always be remembered by those who knew him in his later years
as a valiant caretaker for his wife Mary Lou who suffered from Alzheimer's.
She peacefully passed away January 26, 2008, with Ray by her side patiently
holding her hand. Theirs was a life-long love affair. It seems only
fitting that they would pass over within a matter of days-together.
Ray was predeceased by his parents and sister Alice (Keith) Tryggestad.
He is survived by a sister Marge (Keith) Moulton, daughter Marti (Fred)
Carver, sons Larry (Nancy) and David, grandchildren Luke and Amanda Overmire,
and many nieces and nephews.
Ray and Mary Lou will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by all
those who knew them.
A joint memorial service for Ray & Mary Lou will be on Sunday
Afternoon, February 10, 2008 at 2:00 PM in Heritage Presbyterian Church, 515
N. Leavitt Road, Amherst, Ohio 44001 with Rev. James E. Smucker, pastor,
officiating.
Remembrances may be sent to the Pike County Rotary Foundation, marked
Rotary Centers for International Peace in the memo, to Pike Co. Rotary Club,
PO Box 91, Waverly, OH 45690.
Schwartz, Spence, Boyer & Cool Home for Funerals has been entrusted to
handle the arrangements.
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