As a RN at Toledo Hospital I took care of Ray for a short time due to some complications secondary to his being a quadraplegic. He had been in an automobile accident while attending the University of Toledo that resulted in his quadraplegia. He met his wife, a nurse who took care of him after his accident. I know he was working but not where.
I didn't know him well in school but I know he had a lot of friends and was a bit of a character.
Ray was a total character in grade school. He was always "Raymond E. Thompson" and that's how he signed things. He was preoccupied with girls long before I ever understood why! He was always up to something and upbeat. If you met him once, you remembered him always! I surely do, and with a smile.
I cannot say what year Ray died but he was probably in his late 30's to early 40's. For those of you who don't know, as I understood the story, Ray fell asleep behind the wheel returning from visiting his girlfriend at OSU. His car went off the road, hit a tree, he was thrown out (remember many cars on the road then did not have seat belts) and he hit a tree with his head. He was thereafter a quadriplegic.
Ray and I were not friends in high school but when it came to being the class clown I couldn't hold a candle to him. He sat behind me in Mr. McCollum's class and liked to pull on a chain I had with a religious medal on it. It was kind of annoying but no great harm intended. We were both tall and skinny it isn't like he was a bully. Finally one day he is giving me a good 'choking' (I may have been hamming it up a little) and Mr. McCollum caught him. End of choking incidents. I think everyone got a laugh except Mr. McCollum and the class clown, Ray.
He also told me he played in Johnny and the Hurricanes a regional group as I recall and a one hit wonder. I believed him for a while. It was all music so it wasn't an issue if Ray could sing or not.
Some may remember when he ran for class treasurer, a spot always held by a girl. Ray made some disparaging remarks comparing a couple of female U.S. Treasurers and the national deficit. We all laughed, well maybe not his opponet(s). Ray won in a landslide as I recall.
The last I only knew of second hand as it was infamous if true. He supposedly submitted a paper in a class on I believe the Swedish Navy giving great detail in it as to their ships. He received a good grade I heard. It was all a fabrication as the alleged navy didn't exist.
Ray and I became friends in our mid-late 20's. He was married to a nurse and had a son. I think his sense of humor helped him cope with his condition. I somehow got to know him through a wonderful former girlfiend of mine who had a disability and they had met. After she became my ex-girlfriend I think Ray and I drifted apart. It would have been too painful for me to continue to be involved in the disability group (wheelchair sports) she had been in without her.
Beverly Braun (Connolly)
As a RN at Toledo Hospital I took care of Ray for a short time due to some complications secondary to his being a quadraplegic. He had been in an automobile accident while attending the University of Toledo that resulted in his quadraplegia. He met his wife, a nurse who took care of him after his accident. I know he was working but not where.
I didn't know him well in school but I know he had a lot of friends and was a bit of a character.
Jack Curie (Curie)
Ray was a total character in grade school. He was always "Raymond E. Thompson" and that's how he signed things. He was preoccupied with girls long before I ever understood why! He was always up to something and upbeat. If you met him once, you remembered him always! I surely do, and with a smile.
John Mather
I cannot say what year Ray died but he was probably in his late 30's to early 40's. For those of you who don't know, as I understood the story, Ray fell asleep behind the wheel returning from visiting his girlfriend at OSU. His car went off the road, hit a tree, he was thrown out (remember many cars on the road then did not have seat belts) and he hit a tree with his head. He was thereafter a quadriplegic.
Ray and I were not friends in high school but when it came to being the class clown I couldn't hold a candle to him. He sat behind me in Mr. McCollum's class and liked to pull on a chain I had with a religious medal on it. It was kind of annoying but no great harm intended. We were both tall and skinny it isn't like he was a bully. Finally one day he is giving me a good 'choking' (I may have been hamming it up a little) and Mr. McCollum caught him. End of choking incidents. I think everyone got a laugh except Mr. McCollum and the class clown, Ray.
He also told me he played in Johnny and the Hurricanes a regional group as I recall and a one hit wonder. I believed him for a while. It was all music so it wasn't an issue if Ray could sing or not.
Some may remember when he ran for class treasurer, a spot always held by a girl. Ray made some disparaging remarks comparing a couple of female U.S. Treasurers and the national deficit. We all laughed, well maybe not his opponet(s). Ray won in a landslide as I recall.
The last I only knew of second hand as it was infamous if true. He supposedly submitted a paper in a class on I believe the Swedish Navy giving great detail in it as to their ships. He received a good grade I heard. It was all a fabrication as the alleged navy didn't exist.
Ray and I became friends in our mid-late 20's. He was married to a nurse and had a son. I think his sense of humor helped him cope with his condition. I somehow got to know him through a wonderful former girlfiend of mine who had a disability and they had met. After she became my ex-girlfriend I think Ray and I drifted apart. It would have been too painful for me to continue to be involved in the disability group (wheelchair sports) she had been in without her.
John Mather