September 22, 1941 - December 4, 2020
It is with great sadness that the family of Raymond Putnam announce his passing on December 4, 2020 in Kelowna BC at the age of 79.
He was taken much too soon by the Coronavirus. Ray will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 57 years, Patricia, and his daughters Lisa (Tim) and Kristy (John). His grandchildren Phoebe, Mia and Freya, had many nicknames for him (Pappa, Poppy, Popsy, Popsicle) and will cherish the time they spent with him.
Born September 22, 1941, to Gertrude and Hunter Putnam, Ray grew up on a farm outside of Bowsman, Manitoba with his siblings Mel (deceased), Don, Isla and Bruce.
Ray graduated from the University of Manitoba with a BA in 1964 and an MBA in 1968. He spent much of his career in Toronto, ON and Montreal, QC with the Dale Carnegie organization as an instructor and franchise owner. He and his team won many sales awards over the years.
Ray retired in 2002, and they moved to Kelowna, where he and Pat could be closer to family, spend more time on the golf course and less time shovelling snow. Retirement did not slow him down. He devoted his time to helping his family, friends, neighbours and community. As a friend observed, Ray woke each morning thinking: "What can I do today to make life better?"
Committed to his passions, he volunteered on the executive boards of Shadow Ridge golf course, COPS photographic society and SORCO (a raptor rehabilitation centre). He also contributed to the Kelowna Rockets hockey team for 10 years as Communications Coach. One of his proudest achievements was assisting in the bid for the 2004 Memorial Cup.
Ray will be remembered as someone who took a genuine interest in everyone he met. He loved talking to people and getting to know them. He was one of those guys who, if you met him, you felt like you knew him all your life. He was smart, funny and had so much love in his heart. His kindness and generosity were felt by many, but the centre of his enormously giving heart was devoted to his entire family.
A celebration of Ray's life will be held in spring of 2021. If you would like to honour his memory, donations can be made to help the rehabilitation of owls and other raptors at SORCO, sorco. org/donate. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.springfieldfuneralhome.com