On August 18th, 1924 in Leyton, England Raymond was anxious to make his debut and arrived two months early. His parents, the late Percy and Alice (Brazier) Appleyard were delighted with their tiny son and kept him in a box above the stove to keep him warm. Their greatest hope at the time was that he would survive. Little did they know that he would actually thrive for over 8 decades leaving us on March 10th, 2011.

At the age of 16 after finishing at Rochester Technical School Ray followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the British Navy. His naval career took him all over the world and he was present for the taking of Naples, Italy as well as many other important initiatives.

Ray met his young wife and in 1949 they came to Canada to start a new life with nothing more than a couple of suitcases and very few dollars. They worked hard to make a life for themselves and Ray eventually joined the Canadian Navy. They experienced the joy of three children, Garry, Lynn (Byers) and Wayne and they shared the heartbreak of losing Garry in infancy and Wayne in 1989.

In 1966, Ray took on a major career change and accepted a position with Children and Family Services in Nova Scotia where he worked until 1984 as a juvenile officer as well as a family court officer. Ray was dedicated to his clients and treated everyone with respect and kindness. He was gentle when the situation called for it and tough when a young man needed to be set straight but at the end of the day he was honest and true and he made a major difference in many lives. For many years after he retired young people would approach him just to tell him what a difference he had made.

His career was a success but if you asked Ray what was most important in his life you would soon see that work was not the answer. The most important thing in his life was his bride of 65 years, Vivienne(nee Richards) to whom he referred to as his thrush, his betrothed, his love of his life, his darling. There was no question to anyone that knew him that he loved her with his whole heart and she him. Despite the cruelty of Alzheimers, he always remembered exactly who she was and more importantly he remembered that he loved her intensely. She lovingly and faithfully cared for him for all of those 65 years but most importantly she stood by him the past few years as he slipped slowly away from those who loved him most.

For those of us who remain, Ray was not an employee, not a naval officer. He was Dad, he was Grampy and he was adored. He was the Dragon Slayer who accompanied us on walks at the seashore slaying imaginary dragons with his walking stick. He was comfort when we were hurting. He was strong when we needed him to hold us onto the sailboat when the gusts came up suddenly. He was the loudest cheer in the audience as we graduated. He was the person that convinced us that God was faithful even when our world was falling apart. He was soft brown eyes and silky hair. He was the wrinkled hands that wiped our tears. He was the shaky arms that held each new great grandchild with wonder and joy.
Grampy has left an imprint on the hearts of his grandchildren, Michelle Smith (Mark, Rebecca, Kira and Hannah), Michael Appleyard (Krista and Kylie), Craig Appleyard (Karie, Ella and Grace) of Fredericton and Monique Trenholme (Colin, Nicholas and Daniel) and Nadine Lockhart(Steve, Vicki, Marina and Cora) of Nova Scotia.

Grampy asked that there be no funeral. We reached a compromise many years ago and the family will hold a gathering at a local pub where we will raise many glasses of good british ale in his honor as we consume fish and chips with malt vinegar and choke on pickled onions as we laugh over the good times that we were blessed to have shared.

Thanks be to God for the assurance that we will see you again in eternity. My dragon slayer I love you.