Raymond H. Faust Jr.
Feb. 23, 1938 – July 9, 2020
Born in 1938, Long Island, New York, Raymond Harold Faust Jr. of Mechanicsville, passed away on July 9th, 2020 in Richmond, Virginia.
As a youth he loved to sail around the Great South Bay of Long Island exploring all of the islands along the barrier beach of Fire Island. He did a stint in the army reserves between the Korean and Vietnam conflicts about the time he married his wife Maura, newly immigrated from West Germany.
Raymond had a lifelong fascination with science, philosophy, space exploration, geology and did all kinds of experimenting in his home workshop. In his first job he worked for a company that made parts of the Apollo Lunar Modules that went to the moon. He had a third of an acre backyard organic garden long before organic farming became “a thing”. Ray was a professional carpenter and enjoyed solving the problems of putting things together, taking them apart and finding “better” ways to reassemble them. He was an artist, drawing and painting came naturally to him.
Raymond was self-taught, fueled by a natural curiosity. He was quiet by nature but would spend hours talking about the subjects he was interested in. His sizable library included reference books of all kinds including books about gardening, astronomy, all the sciences, nutrition, engineering, carpentry, animals, birds and butterflies.
He loved astronomy. He built his own 6 inch lens refractor telescope and shared that fascination with his children. It is appropriate that there is now a comet (Neowise) visible overhead in that same sky that he gazed at and dreamed about over his entire life.
Raymond is survived by Maura, his wife of sixty-two years, three children, Wayde, Lorraine, Jeff and four grandchildren, Sean, Bryan, Jonathan and Gio.
I imagine all the secrets of the cosmos have been revealed to you and you are in awe and completely at peace. We love you and will miss you and you’ll always be there with us. Love, jeff, gina and gio
You are now at peace flying high among the stars.
You will Always and Forever be in my heart! I love you to the moon, mars and back! Love You, Love Lorie
Dad, Every time I look up at the stars I remember all the nights we shared with our telescope. I loved hanging out with you in your workshop with all your tools while you were experimenting, building a birdbath, or fixing a vacuum cleaner. You had a unique way of looking at things, large and small. I will try to be attuned better to my dreams in the hope that you can share some bits of the answers you were in search of most of your life, for I’m sure that you have them all now. You will remain in my heart and every meteor that I will see flaming across the sky.
I have known Ray and his wife for about 30 years or more. My wife and I met Ray and his wife through his daughter Lorraine. We have had countless meals and numerous wonderful weekends spent enjoying each other’s company. Ray was. Nothing but kind always a gentleman. I hope God blesses the family. Ray will be missed.
Now you have all the answers Ray. Bruce and I will remember you always. Until we meet again friend.
Ray was a WONDERFUL Neighbor!! We Will Miss You SO Much!!
Until We Meet Again!! Lots of LOVE Your Way!!
Faye and Lyle
Dad Faust, you were a wonderful father-in-law.
Someone who was always there that could offer a helping hand that shared his knowledge do joyfully. I will miss our conversations about nutrition, gardening, history, geology, astronomy and current events. I will never forget the first time I entered your home on Long Island and saw the painting of the Glacier that you had painted and framed in your living room, it was breathtaking. You were an amazing husband, dedicated father, caring grandfather and a good friend to so many. Your spirit and energy is still among us. When I look up at the stars on a crystal clear dark night I will think of you and the positive light that you brought to so many during your life.
Opa,
I will never forget all of the wonderful memories we shared, from Christmas Eve’s as a kid in New York, collecting marbles from your driveway, 4th of July fireworks from Colonial Downs when you moved to VA, and so much more. I hope you finally have learned all the secrets of the universe, I know you’re out there still exploring ⭐️🪐🌎
Love,
Bryan
All the kind words. There is nothing to add. Friedrich and Josefine were lucky enough to get to know him. We will miss him
My husband, John, and Ray could talk for hours about their shared interests. Everything from outer space to God and creation. Maura and I, we’d known each other for years before we introduced our husbands, were happy that they hit it off so easily. Loved when the four of us got together and visited with each other. I was just remembering our trip together to Biltmore Mansion. I have a picture on my wall of the four of us together. It’s times like that, where I will miss Ray the most, but, also have fond memories of the 4 of us and our adventures together. See you, someday, on the other side my friend.
Uncle Ray you will be missed, always enjoyed our conversation and how you loved to show me your vegetable garden. Love Kerri
I Never See you. In my Life my Mom Ursula and we all Here say Good Bye uncle ray
So sorry for the family’s loss!
Uncle Ray we were lucky to have a visit here and there with you. I’ll always reflect on your quiet gentle nature. I have sharp memories of your murals and gardens in NY. I’ll never forget that wild ride to the airport, when we realized the time of our flight. You took charge and got us there, likity splits! I learned a thing or two that night on how to defensively drive on Long Island. You will be missed, always loved, Kirsten
Uccle Ray, May you rest in peace now . I still remember our last Conversation so well, so glad I got to see you again. I will always remember you as a great loving husband and father. And your beautiful voice. It´s quiet now but I´m sure at peace. Love Carin
Ray, you will be missed. my fondest memories are when we were kids, growing up o Long Island. Going to the beach, and spending time on the water. The time the six of us cousins went rowing out to the sounds while our parents were sailing. The wind had died down and they kept waving at us, but we ignored them and rowed back home. It took them hours to find someone to tow them into to dock. Love Rita
Rau. you’ll be missed. on f my favorite memories is the time the six of us were rowing out to the sound. Our parents were in the sail boat, but the wind had died down, they were waving at us (wanted us to come to them so they could row and pull the sailboat back into shore. We ignored them and came back to shore. It took a few hours before someone would towed them back to shore.
Uncle Ray……you will be missed by many who loved you. I’ll always remember your gentle, mild mannered ways and soothing, easy to listen to voice. Your garden was always incredible and one of envy. I always loved looking at your murals …and then later all your flower photos — you were a talented man indeed. I remember all the parties our families had where we kids played, the women handled all the food and talking, and the men handled the drinks and horse shoes! I know I’ll see you again someday…. until then, RIP, Uncle Ray. Love you, Holly
Opa, your fascination with the natural world inspired my love for history, and fascination of minerals and gemstones. You always made me smile when you would show me your collections and I couldn’t stop looking at your amethysts and beautiful quartz stones. Running around your garden as a kid felt like I was in a giant’s backyard, your tomatoes were the biggest I’ve ever seen! We miss you Opa. You loved to gaze at the stars, and you’re now at peace among them. Until I see you again.
Love, Sean
Remembering Ray….
Gardener, thinker, master planner, carpenter, photographer, the list goes on…..but what we remember most about Ray was his laughter. It was deep and hearty and made his face light up. Ray, so many good times together…as we celebrated birthdays, anniversary’s and life, with the Wrobel’s and Cluxton’s.
What golden days we all had, trips together, dinners,..making lasting memories. Each of our journeys seemed to meld into one.
We are grateful for your”presence” in our lives and for your thoughtfulness and many kindnesses.
We loved you, Ray, and always will.
I loved conversing with Ray, always so much to talk about, never a dull moment. So knowledgable and a great listener too. Kind, creative and smart. Always enjoyed spending time with him. All around great guy. He will be missed dearly. I truly look forward to meeting him again. A piece of my heart is missing for all who have crossed his path must feel a great loss. Love you and miss you Ray. I know you are with us all here in spirit and this thought truly brings me joy. So glad I got to know you.