Remembering Ray

Chet Nevins

Lost Brothers are We - from the Memorial Service

We stand here before you in sorrow today,
For one of our brothers has passed away.
He leaves us in grief for the loss we all feel
But sharing his life made us better for real.

We came from the North to a school expecting learning.
But found something far more enduring.
Looking for knowledge to fuel our careers,
We found instead a man who would define our years.

The hours and days we spent with this man,
Has touched us in ways we can’t comprehend.
His relaxed demeanor and gentle kindness,
Has given us an example of true fondness.

His infectious smile and joy was like no other.
And we soon embraced him as our brother.

A day with Ray was never routine,
He’d show you the mundane was more than it seemed.

He was an eager, ambitious, adventurous soul.
And to find this in everyday events was his goal.
He loved to teach you about some obscure thing from the day.
And you were sure to be entertained by the words he’d convey.

Going out of his way to speak to a passerby on the street,
He was sincere to learn all he could from those that he’d meet.

Ray showed us the true meaning for living,
Through his abundant, impassioned and unselfish giving.

He lives now with others he loved where today we can’t follow.
And leaves us here to endure our great sorrow.
While we did not expect to see him each day
We always expected he’d be there to play.

He touched our lives with such profound meaning,
And when he met Sophie he thought he was dreaming.
It was so fitting of Ray’s life,
To take kickboxing classes to meet his wife.

For Sophie and Rose this loss goes far deeper
the voyage you now face appears much steeper.
He was a true example of a husband and father.
A model to which all should aspire.

For while we have lost our brother today
And our pain surely won’t soon fade away.
There is no measure for the loss of a husband and father,
Whose life’s ambition was his wife and his daughter.

To borrow some words Ray once did send
Sophie you were his lover, companion, partner and friend.
Now in your memories his love will stay pure
And through all our remembrances his soul will endure.

His love for his clan was clear to see
And his dad was the pinnacle of his family
His love for his father was abundantly clear
As it was for all those he held dear.

Dear Rose we want so desperately for you to know
The character of the man we all loved so.

We find ourselves lost and wandering this day and searching for meaning in tragic dismay.
For one can’t put in words who Ray Ryan O’Neal truly be….
There is no man as good as he
Why did you take him away from WE?

Lord we thank you for giving Ray to us all to know,
For our lives would not be the same to show.
May we find peace in our hearts to heal our great pain
But never forget his love will remain.

For we will always remember his joy and his love
And trust you’ll embrace him in your world up above.