TRIBUTES ‘Raymond got so much joy from seeing other people’s memories’

AN “INCREDIBLE” father and grandfather has been remembered for his self-taught passion for genealogy.

Described as an “Ely man through and through” by his family, the life of history enthusiast Raymond Guy has been celebrated following his death at the age of 69 after a short battle with cancer.

Born on Pengwern Road in Ely in 1948, Mr Guy was well-loved in the community as the administrator of the Ely and Canton Memories Facebook page – spending his free time painstakingly researching family trees and tracing old photos.

Married to beloved wife Pat for more than 30 years, Mr Guy is survived by his four children and six grandchildren.

Paying tribute, daughter Alison said her father will be fondly remembered for their weekly politics discussions over dinner and his annual tradition of dressing up as Father Christmas for his grandchildren.

Mr Guy was also known for staying up to date with the latest technology and his ability to fix his family’s computers.

After retiring from his father’s window cleaning company, Mr Guy went on to develop an interest in family history, devoting hours to scanning old books and photos at Cardiff Central Library.

From there, he began posting old school photos for friends online until he finally created the Facebook page in response to requests asking for his expertise.

Now with thousands of followers sharing their own memories and history, the page is continued by Mr Guy’s family with the help of his meticulously organised files spanning decades – including every family document since 1900.

Talking about her dad, 35-yearold Alison said: “My dad absolutely loved seeing everyone else’s photos and he got so much joy seeing other people’s memories and creating the page.

“He was the one to go to if you needed anything about genealogy. People could ask for a certain road and my dad would look on the PC straight away and find it.

“He was always interested in genealogy but technology allowed him to really delve into it.”

She added: “He was an incredible father and an incredible grandfather.”

In addition to his genealogy, Mr Guy is also remembered for his weekly outings to the car boot sale and a fantastic ability to spot a bargain.

His funeral was held on August 23 in Thornhill, Cardiff, where his family received hundreds of messages of support from people Raymond had helped.