Ray Ketchum

Ray Ketchum died on January 7, 2024, as the year’s first snow fell across Connecticut. His family was present.

Raymond Elliott Backley Ketchum II, the son of Raymond Elliott Backley Ketchum and Leila Virginia Findley Ketchum, was born February 22, 1935, in Jacksonville, Florida.

He received his BS degree from West Point in 1957 and his MBA from the University of Alabama in 1966. Ray sang in the West Point Cadet Glee Club, was a skilled swordsman, and his oratorial and debating skills were as sharp as his weapons. His peers wrote in his West Point yearbook: “His devotion to non-academic duties was superlative…and at no time did he permit his curriculum to interfere with his education.”

Ray was a decorated combat veteran, who proudly served for 30 years in the United States Army. He retired as a Colonel in 1987, following three tours of duty in Vietnam, and tours in Germany and Japan, and across the United States.

Upon retiring, he settled in Stamford, Connecticut, the hometown of his wife, Gwendolyn June, and the ancestral home of the June family. He helped veterans find employment, served in the local church and sang in its choir, and joyfully sang in the University Glee Club of New York City. He was also a past president of Stamford’s “gem”, Learning in Retirement.

Ray was the most honorable of men and he was fiercely devoted to his family. He lived his life using as guides, passages from the West Point Cadet prayer: “Make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong.” and from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “A Psalm of Life”: “Act, act in the living Present! Heart within, and God o’erhead!”

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, and love of his life, Gwen, son, Raymond, daughter, June Williams, grandchildren, Trevor Williams, Dawn Williams Taubl, Pria Williams, Chris Ketchum, Katie Ketchum, great-grandchildren, Kylie and Skylar Williams, and his beloved dog, Latte.

A memorial gathering to celebrate Ray’s life will be held at a later time. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you please make a donation to the Humane Society International ( hsi.org ), the musical organization SoundAffect.org , or a charity of your choice.