RAYMOND CHARLES HART
NORWICH – We celebrate the completed life of Raymond Charles Hart of Norwich, New York. Ray was a devoted husband and father, known and remembered also for his sense of humor, commitment to the Antique Automobile Club and decades of service to the community through his business “Hart’s Electrical Service”.
Ray passed away on Friday, June 6, 2014, at the age of 85. He was born in Norwich the son of Floyd Cleveland and Florence Marie (Bartlett) Hart, both of Norwich.
Ray graduated from the Norwich High School in 1945 and earned his degree in auto mechanics at Morrisville College in 1948. He was drafted into the United States Army in November of 1950, which took him first to Fort Bragg in North Carolina and then to Echterdingen and Stuttgart, Germany where he was a paratrooper in the 557th QM Aerial Supply Company until his release in 1952.
Ray married the love of his life, Laura Seeber, on December 24, 1950, while on leave and corresponded regularly while in the service. They were married in the Broad St. United Methodist Church and remained married until Ray’s death for 63 years.
Following his release from the Army, Ray went to work for Victor Electric on So. Broad St., and after eight years, struck out on his own with the support of his wife, launching Hart’s Electric. The couple worked well together and as a team they ran the business for 30 years, from 1960 to 1990, first on So. Broad St., and from 1970 in what had earlier been the Ralston Purina Feed Mill at 49 Silver Street.
No job was to much trouble for Ray when it came to providing pleasure for his six children: Diane Marie Hart (John Henley), Raymond (Duffy) Hart (Donna), Alison Lee Hamje (Ken), Valerie Kay Thompson (William), Doreen Ann Stoquert (Wayne) and Christine Gail Mesick (Todd). For these he built tree houses, ice-skating rinks, trails and even a summer house which he built with his own hands. He also loved boating and water skiing with the kids on Cooperstown Lake. Ray was a hard worker, but when he wasn’t at work, he was at home with his family. There was nothing he could not fix. He taught his children to find meaning in work and to always persevere. One of his most cherished activities was rocking and singing to one of his many generations of toddlers on his lap.
As the years went by, Ray developed an extraordinary interest in antique cars, which he collected and restored, one by one until he owned 40 vehicles, of which he restored 20. Following in the footsteps of Clyde Miller, he served as President of the Rolling Antiquer’s Old Car Club for 31 years, hosting one of the largest antique automobile shows in the eastern U.S. every year over Memorial Day weekend.
Ray also enjoyed traveling with his wife to places such as Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Yugoslavia, Turkey, India, Nepal, Peru, Guatemala, Panama and Mexico. After their retirement from Hart’s Electric in 1990, the Harts spent their winters in Bradenton, Florida and subsequently moved to Punta Gorda, Florida in 2007.
In addition to his six children, Ray has 13 grandchildren, Tania Holbein, Paul and Alexander Henley, Nathan and Jennissa Hart, Chelesa Hamje, Jonathan and Christopher Thompson, Andrew, Hannah and Gregory Stoquert and Camryn and Collin Mesick, 4 great grandchildren, Jordan and Mikaela Hamje, Sophia Holbein and Iris Hart-Hibbert and one great great grandchild, Liam Hamje. He is predeceased by his parents Floyd and Florence Hart, his sister Freda McCoy and brother Kenneth Hart and is leaving behind a niece Deborah Cassavaugh, a nephew John McCoy and a dear and loyal friend Dick Blunden.
Funeral services for Ray will be held on Friday, June 13, at 11:00 am from the R.J.Fahy Funeral Home. The Rev. David Kleinstuber of Norwich will officiate. Interment will follow in the Mt. Hope Cemetery.
Friends may call at the R.J.Fahy Funeral Home on Thursday from 3-7 pm.
Please consider memorial contributions to the Chenango County Historical Society, 45 Rexford St., Norwich, NY 13815 or to Hospice and Palliative Care of Chenango County, 21 Hayes St., Norwich, NY 13815.