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Raymond Wheat - Class of 1970
Submitted by Fran Olson Gustafson 1965 <fgustafson917@gmail.com>
on 30/Mar/2024
97.124.252.171
 Raymond Wheat Jr., passed away Tuesday,
March 26 at Ellis Hospital after a brief illness. He is
survived by his wife of 20 years Annette (Valentino) Wheat,
daughters Stephanie (Cormac McEvoy) Wheat, Jacqueline
(Donald) Paul, Caitlin Wheat; grandchildren Moira, Eamonn,
and Aisling McEvoy, Bo, and Joceline Paul; sisters Gail
Crawford and Charlene Cashara, Uncle Billy Dardanelli (the
brother he never had) and loyal companion Cooper. Ray was
predeceased by his parents Raymond Wheat Sr. and Shirley
(Langdon) Wheat, loyal companions Zack and Harley, and his
beloved mother-in-law Mary Valentino.
After graduating from Newburgh Free Academy, he joined the
Coast Guard from 1974 - 1976 and was then self-employed as a
general contractor for a number of years under the name
Wheat's Enterprises. Ray was then employed at West Point as
a civilian engineer tech for 23 years. When he met the love
of his life, Annette, he moved to the Capital District and
transferred to the Naval Base in Saratoga where he served as
facilities manager for 12 years. After retirement, he took a
part-time job with the Morale Welfare and Recreation unit in
Milton where he maintained the various pieces of
recreational equipment for the troops. The last stop in his
employment journey took him to Guam this past year, where he
worked for iParametrics serving as a contractor
planner/estimator assessing the work required to restore
buildings damaged by the 140 MPH winds of Typhoon Mawar. Ray
was the quintessential handyman who could build or fix
anything. He had the vision to see what a renovation could
look like, and the talent to make it come to fruition. For
example, when he and Annette moved into their home in
Schenectady, he took down walls and expanded a tiny kitchen
into the porch. It was both beautiful and functional. He
loved working with his hands and he loved being busy. He
would make gifts like a spice rack, or use his lathe to make
pens to give to a doctor's office. Even in the week before
his passing, he asked to be wheeled over to the sink so he
could fix a leaky faucet (which he did fix!). He also loved
camping, the beach, target shooting, and playing golf with
Uncle Billy, so much so that he and Annette decided to start
the Dardanelli Family Golf Outing. He was a very loving
co-caretaker with Annette of her mother Mary, patiently
taking her to hair appointments and hours-long grocery
outings with a magnifying glass so he could read Mary every
single ingredient to make sure nothing contained honey which
she was deathly allergic to. Ray was also very supportive
and proud of Annette's ministry as a Dominican Associate of
Peace with the Dominican Retreat and Conference Center, even
helping her in the kitchen when she cooked for retreats or
by flipping burgers at DRCC picnics. His sense of humor
always kept Annette and those around him laughing, and he
was an eternal optimist to whom any challenge was merely a
bump in the road.
The family is very grateful to the many caretakers along the
way, especially his primary care physician Dr. Luis Diaz,
and his cardiologist Dr. Stephen Piacentine, who went above
and beyond in his care for Ray. In lieu of flowers please
consider contributions to the Dominican Retreat and
Conference Center at 1945 Union St, Niskayuna, NY 12309
Attn: Sr Sue Zemgulis, or the Animal Protective Foundation,
53 Maple Avenue, Glenville, NY 12302. Services will be held
on Wednesday, April 3 from 9-11 at Rossi and Ditoro Funeral
Home on 501 Union St. in Schenectady, followed by interment
at St. Joseph's Cemetery, 100 Kings Rd., Schenectady.
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