Bill Raymond died peacefully on Friday, January 20, 2023, after 98 full years in which he raised a beautiful family, loved his wife with his entire heart and soul, kept more airmen safe than could be counted, and helped to save the world.

William Arthur Raymond was born on June 14, 1924, in Baldwinsville, NY, the son of Scott and Elizabeth (nee Proudy) Raymond. The son of a cavalryman, he loved horses as a boy, a love that he carried throughout his life. When World War II broke out, he followed the family tradition of military service by joining the newly formed 101 ^st Airborne Division. In the war's final years, he served with the 101 ^st through some of the war's most harrowing battles, jumping into Normandy the night before D-Day, helping to liberate Holland, and surviving the Battle of the Bulge.

Upon returning to Syracuse after the war, he married Susan Brock in 1948. They bought a home on Marilyn Avenue and welcomed two daughters, Carol Anne (Eve) and Teresa, with whom they spent happy years having family adventures, creating Christmas traditions, and enjoying a steady stream of friends and visitors, young and old, two- and four-legged alike. Later, they moved to Liverpool, where Bill and Sue rebuilt a grand old home by hand and transformed their property into a beautiful garden.

Bill made a career ensuring the safety of the pilots of the New York Air National Guard's 174th Attack Wing, and the 274th Air Support Operations Squadron at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base. A paratrooper till the end, his focus was to make sure that every pilot was equipped with a reliable parachute. He fussed over every inch of line and silk, and he worried about every flight he helped support. Through the years, he mentored pilots and flight crew, whom he loved like sons and daughters.

After retiring from the Air National Guard in 1985, Bill and Sue moved to Florida, where they lived in a lovely condo on the Cape Canaveral coast. They enjoyed watching space shuttle launches from their screened-in porch and they took memorable vacations to beautiful places around the world. But one day they wondered why, in fact, they had made the move south. Unable to come up with a good answer, they went home. In 2010, they settled in a house on Tipperary Hill, where they spent their final years. Susan died in 2017. And when Bill passed after suffering a stroke in his favorite chair, the family took comfort in knowing that he was back at her side, where he always felt he belonged.

Bill was the embodiment of everything that made the "Greatest Generation" great. His proudest achievements were his marriage and his children. He was kind, gentle, generous, funny, caring, sweet, happy, and eternally patient. He was a person who laughed with his whole body, and he laughed often. He was a charmer, a gourmet chef, a smooth dancer, a serviceable golfer, and a lover of jokes. A dog was never born who did not instinctively love the man. The horrors he saw in war seemed only to have informed his kindness and deep humanity. He kept his Army medals in a dresser drawer, always out of sight.

Bill is survived by his daughter Eve (Mario) Juarez; Teresa (Ray) Melnick; three grandsons, Ryan and Nick Juarez and Alex Melnick, plus many nieces and nephews.

At Bill's request, there will be no funeral services. A Celebration of Life will follow at a later date. However, if you wish to honor his service and memory, please consider making a donation to Sunshine Horses, Inc. at 3721 Verplank Road, Clay NY 13041 or online at www.sunshinehorses.org .