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In memory of those who have Crossed the Bar
SOUCIE, Raymond Charles (Ray) - His was a life well lived until dementia slowed him down and took away his favourite things like barbecuing a steak, sipping a glass of red wine, travelling, reading a gripping crime novel, and most precious of all, spending time with his family in his own home.
Ray’s life began in northern Ontario, where he lived with his late parents, Ted and Bertha Soucie, and his four siblings. While a teenager, he was itching to leave home so he got work in a gold mine. Although he was making a living, Ray was on the lookout for something better. Lo and behold, he saw an ad in a magazine to join the navy and see the world. He never looked back. This landlubber gained his sea legs in 1958 and served until his retirement in 1990. Ray was a proud sailor and signalman, serving on many warships. He loved the Royal Canadian Navy and the opportunities it afforded him. Upon being posted to Victoria, B.C., in 1973, he took extra time off to drive cross-country and show his young family the vast, beautiful country of Canada, and to visit his parents and siblings in Orillia and Chapleau, Ont. Their return trip home to Nova Scotia took place in 1978. Ray rose through the ranks and retired as a Chief Petty Officer, first class, and Command Chief, Maritime Command.
Never one to sit around, Ray then worked for 10 years for a defence contractor, and then another few years as executive director of HMCS Sackville, Canada’s Naval Memorial. Ray believed in giving back to his community and spent countless hours volunteering with the chief and petty officers mess as mess president, Chief and Petty Officers Association, and United Way. Full retirement took hold in the mid-aughts. Ray and his beloved wife, Angela, travelled the world. With the sea in his blood, most of their trips were on cruise ships. In 2014 and 2015, they spent their winters in Florida. Then came a dementia diagnosis for Ray. He was able to take two more trips and then travelling became a struggle.
In 2022, Ray moved into Camp Hill in Halifax. While there, he enjoyed music in the garden, weekly bingo games, and watching nature shows in his room.
His passing on Jan. 29 was peaceful.
Ray is survived by his wife of 62 years, Angela, formerly Skidmore. They met at a dance in Smiths Cove, near HMCS Cornwallis, where Ray was at a trade group course. In his younger years, Ray could tear up a dance floor and he loved to listen to big band and old-time country music. However, if he started to sing, the room would empty.
He enjoyed watching hockey, football, baseball and curling. His favourite teams were the Halifax Mooseheads, the Maple Leafs, and Toronto Blue Jays. As a young man, he played hockey and curling. Ray never met a dog he didn’t like. Their home was often full of paw prints and dog hair and he wouldn’t have had it any other way. When he no longer could care for a dog, he enjoyed his daughters’ dogs, Timmy and Ollie. While living out west, Ray enjoyed spending time fishing on his boat. He would often bring home Pacific salmon, much of which he smoked in a little smoker in the backyard. Little did his daughters know this was a delicacy. When not at sea, Ray took over the kitchen, to Angela’s delight! He was known for his yummy BBQ steak, spaghetti sauce and homemade bread rolls.
Ray is also survived by his daughters Christine Madill, Lewis Lake, and Denise (Stephen) Simpson, Dartmouth; grandson Matthew Madill and his fiancée Alanna MacDonald, Dartmouth; granddaughters Alyssa (Tanner) Kelly, Halifax, and Natasha Simpson, Dartmouth; sister Estelle Morin, Thunder Bay; and brothers Ted (Mary), Bracebridge, Ont., and Dennis (Debbi), Barrie, Ont.; sister-in-law Janette Boates Hines (Bill), Nictaux; and brother-in-law David Skidmore, Toronto, and many nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his sister Violet Emms, mother and father-in-law Sheila and Allan Skidmore, brothers-in-law Gerry Boates and David Emms, and son-in-law Dale Madill.
A funeral will be held at 2 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 13, at Atlantic Funeral Home, 771 Main St., Dartmouth, with a reception to follow. Cremation has taken place.
Ray’s family expresses their gratitude to longtime caregiver and friend Joan Meek, whom he affectionately called “the pest”, and the nurses and staff on 5 West at Camp Hill.
If you wish, please consider donating to Soul’s Harbour Rescue Mission in Ray’s name.
Fair winds and following seas, Ray. (Arbor Memorial)
Ships served in: HMCS GATINEAU - Served in GATINEAU in 1988 as Cox'n
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