Matilda L. Raymond

Matilda L. Raymond, age 83, of Grants Pass, died Thursday, October 27, 2011 at Applegate House.

Family & Friends will gather for a celebration of her life at 11:00 a.m., Thursday, November 3, 2011 at St. Anne Catholic Church with Father William Holtzinger officiating. A reception will immediately follow at the church. Hull & Hull Funeral Directors are in charge of arrangements.

Matilda was born March 30, 1928 in Monterey, California to Matilda & Migual Lopez. She attended Monterey High School and was very active in sports and theater and was a cheerleader for the school’s football team. She later attended school in design and the making of women’s clothing. It was in a tailor shop at Fort Ord, California that she met her husband, Oliver Raymond and in February 1951 they were married. Mattie, as she was affectionately known, traveled and lived in a number of countries with her Army husband, Oliver and their five very active children. Four of those years were in Africa. Mattie and Oliver hunted extensively and one trip was a 30 day Safari down the Nile River. Of all their travels, the children loved Hawaii the best. After Oliver’s 20 years in the U.S. Army, Mattie and Oliver moved from Massachusetts to Grants Pass in 1969. Having a little farming in their backgrounds, the Raymond’s always dreamed of living on a ranch. Prior to Oliver’s retirement, Mattie traveled to Grants Pass and found a wonderful dream maker, “Paradise Ranch.” Just take a trip down Monument Drive and you will see where the Raymond’s and their five children lived and worked for 20 years until 1990. Mattie & Oliver entertained many a guest from our community and afar, and many of their guests married on “Paradise Island.” Many Grants Pass neighbors and friends played the Paradise 3-hole golf course.

Together Oliver & Mattie danced thru their lives with one another and will transcend on forever.

Mattie volunteered at St. Anne Catholic Church School.

In addition to her husband of 60 years, Oliver F. Raymond; she is survived by a son, Brad Raymond; four daughters, Lauren Rasmussen, Elise Nations, Cindy Theiss, and Leslie Ramano; a sister, Madelina Stettenbenz; 12 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents; a sister, Virginia Simmons; and a brother, Mike Lopez.