Raymond Edwin Overmire ^{1 2}

  General Notes:

OBITUARY OF RAY E. OVERMIRE JR., by Larry Overmire, Feb 2008:

A descendant of Revolutionary War Capt. George Overmire as well as Gov. William Bradford and 5 other passengers on the Mayflower, Ray was born in Minneapolis, MN, on 30 Jan 1923, to Raymond Edwin and Lillian (Tifft) Overmire. He graduated from Huntington H.S., IN, where he set four school records in track and was an All-State football star. He and fullback Rex Grossman were dubbed "The Touchdown Twins." (Grossman's grandson of the same name quarterbacked for the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI.)

Ray attended Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, OH, until he was called for military duty. He served in World War II as an Ensign aboard the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill which was struck by two kamikazes off the coast of Okinawa on 11 May 1945. During the attack, Ensign Overmire was below decks sleeping in his bunk in the stern near the torpedo room, off-duty from his assignment in the radar room of the control tower. Had he been on duty, he likely would have been killed. He was doubly fortunate in that the first kamikaze's bomb missed its target. Otherwise, the torpedo room would have exploded and the whole stern of the ship blown apart. While making his escape, Overmire stopped to give artificial respiration - in vain - to a doomed sailor. Pressing on, with a coffee-drenched rag over his mouth to breathe, he made his way through the thick black smoke and finally, after an ordeal of several hours, reached the safety of the flight deck above. Grateful for having survived, Ray vowed to lead a life of service to God and his fellow man.

On 27 Jun 1945, he married Mary Lou Fast, the daughter of Irl and Anna Mary (Shriver) Fast, in Cleveland Heights, OH. In the fall of '46, Ray was stricken by polio, which caused permanent damage to his right leg. He graduated from Ohio Wesleyan in 1948 and was a leader of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity.

Ray had a long career as a YMCA executive serving branches in Alliance, OH, Rochester, NY; Xenia, OH; Detroit, MI and finally the Lorain Family Y, OH, from which he retired in 1989. Ray and Mary Lou moved to Bristol Gardens Retirement Village in Waverly, OH, in 1995. Always active in the church, Ray and Mary Lou were members of Northminster Presbyterian in Lorain and Grace United Methodist in Waverly.

Ray was a tireless worker, a devoted father and husband, and a man of great integrity and high principles. Determined to promote brotherhood, he helped organize one of the first interracial fraternities in the country and was the first to hire African-Americans and other minorities in some of the Y's in which he served. "During my forty-one years of YMCA service," Ray once wrote, "I have tried to emphasize the importance of character-building group work and bridge-building interracial and interfaith activities among youth and adults."

In recent years, Ray was a strong advocate for world peace, promoting Christian ideals of love, kindness and forgiveness. He was a member of Rotary, enjoyed stamp collecting and loved to listen to Glenn Miller and other Big Bands.

He will always be remembered by those who knew him in his later years as a valiant caretaker for his wife Mary Lou who suffered from Alzheimer's. She peacefully passed away 26 Jan 2008, with Ray by her side patiently holding her hand. Theirs was a life-long love affair. It seems only fitting that they would pass over within a matter of days - together.

Ray and Mary Lou will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by all those who knew them.
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  Noted events in his life were:

• He was buried after 7 February 2008 in the Ridge Hill Memorial Park in Amherst, OH.

Find A Grave Memorial 28683989
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Raymond married Mary Louise Fast, daughter of Irl Fast and Anna Mary Shriver, on 27 June 1946.¹ (Mary Louise Fast was born on 16 February 1925 in Mansfield, OH,³ died on 26 January 2008 in Waverly, OH ³ and was buried after 26 January 2008 in Amherst, OH ³.)