VIENNA – Raymond J. D’Alfonso, 65, of Vienna, Maine and Canyon Lake, Texas, died at his home in Vienna on May 16, 2010.
He was born Sept. 15, 1944 in Calais, Maine, the son of Joseph and Erma Marie D’Alfonso. He graduated from Lewiston High in 1963 and went on to undergraduate study at Northeastern University majoring in business. Upon graduation from college, he entered the workforce in the insurance industry in Hartford, Connecticut.
In 1968 he volunteered for active duty as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Air Force, proudly serving his country as a missile launch officer and earning an M.B.A from Southern Missouri State. In 1973 he was honorably discharged from the USAF and re-entered the insurance industry working in Connecticut , Vermont, and eventually Texas until his retirement from USAA’s San Antonio office in 2000.
In his retirement, he continued to work part time as a real estate developer in the Belgrade Lakes Maine area and was instrumental in creating the Rockwood Shores development on Long Pond. A loving father, he was very proud of his children, always quick to praise their accomplishments in the military, medical profession, and insurance industry. He admired his father, who immigrated from Italy as a boy, eventually earned two PhDs, and was both a professor at Bates College and minister in the the United Methodist Church in Lewiston, ME.
He enjoyed the outdoors, boating, and visiting with his lifelong friends on Flying Pond in Vienna. He was a national ski patrol member as a young man, most recently taking his grandsons skiing this winter in Pennsylvania. Ray loved animals, especially his dog Tina and was an avid history buff, studying and visiting sites across America and Europe.
Survivors include two sons U.S. Air Force Colonel Kenneth D’Alfonso and his wife Laura of New Braunfels TX, Dr. Robert D’Alfonso and his wife Allison of Austin TX, a daughter Angela Fiedler and her husband Chris of Austin TX, and the children’s mother and his former wife, Michele (Fortier) Batemen originally of Lewistion, ME, currently residing in New Braunfels, TX. Ray has four grandchildren, Luke, Cole, and Faith D’Alfonso, and Hagen Fiedler. He shared a very close and personal relationship with his long time friend, Mary Ralmuto of San Antonio TX. He is predeceased by his parents and a younger brother Donald.
A Memorial Service will be held Friday, May 21, 2010 at 1 p.m. at the Vienna Baptist Church. Interment will be at a later date at the Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Auburn, ME. Arrangements are under the direction of the Adams-McFarlane Funeral & Cremation Svc. 108 Court St. Farmington, ME. Donations may be made in his memory to the United Way of Bexar County, Texas. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.adamsmcfarlane.com.
