Samuel Otis Raymond died in Shelburne, Vermont on Tuesday, November 30th, 2021 at the age of 93.

Sam was the founder of Benthos Undersea Systems of North Falmouth, MA, as well as being an oceanographic engineer, inventor, underwater photographer, world traveler and life-long adventurer.

Sam was born in New Britain, Connecticut in 1928, son of Horace and Grace Raymond. Growing up in Berlin, CT, he was inspired by his father’s engineering work and inventions including the world’s first automatic “Magic Eye” door. Sam earned a BS in mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then worked at the Caltex Oil Company in Calcutta, India. He also worked for the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company in Tacoma, WA and Hughes Aircraft Company in California before returning to Cambridge, MA, to work with his former MIT professor and mentor, Dr. Harold Edgerton, a pioneer of high-speed photography and the electronic flash.

By the late 1950s, Sam was heading the ocean products division at Edgerton, Germeshausen and Grier (EG&G). In 1962 he founded his own company in Watertown, MA, to design underwater cameras and scientific equipment primarily for researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI). He soon moved his business to North Falmouth, MA and became a Cape Codder for most of his life. He named his new company Benthos from a Greek word meaning life at the bottom of the sea. Benthos became a world leader in designing and manufacturing equipment for ocean science, deep-sea photography and ocean industries.

In the 1980s and ‘90s Sam and Benthos became involved in the exploration of the wreck of RMS Titanic, during expeditions with the National Geographic Society, IMAX Corporation and filmmaker James Cameron. Benthos cameras were used to capture the first photographs of Titanic on the sea floor, including a cover photo in National Geographic Magazine. Sam and Benthos also developed equipment used by James Cameron for underwater sequences in the films Titanic and The Abyss.

Sam also created a new division of Benthos called TapTone, improving upon an invention of his father’s for acoustically testing the integrity of food containers. This led to a line of equipment for safety testing on production lines for the food and beverage industry. Benthos and TapTone are still active today in North Falmouth as divisions of Teledyne Technologies.

Outside of work, Sam enjoyed scuba diving, skiing, spelunking, hiking, trail biking, traveling and music. Throughout his life he loved tinkering, figuring out how things work, and imagining ways to make them work better.

Sam’s wanderlust began with a hitchhiking trip across the United States during a summer break from college, during which he worked odd jobs including washing dishes in a Grand Canyon bunkhouse. After a stint in the Merchant Marine, Sam took many ocean voyages connected with expeditions for WHOI and the National Geographic Society.

Sam’s lifelong love of travel led him to many remote places and adventures, ranging from riding his motorbike across India in the 1950s to scuba diving under the ice at the North Pole as part of a National Geographic Society expedition photographing ice formations. In the early 1980s, inspired by Heinrich Harrer’s book Seven Years in Tibet, Sam found a way to travel to the city of Lhasa with his daughter Nixie, despite the fact that Tibet was closed to foreign travelers. While in Lhasa, Sam and Nixie were thrilled to witness the yet-unspoiled, ancient culture of Tibet. He continued to travel in his retirement years, globe trotting with little more than a small backpack and his trusty ukulele, traveling by bus and staying in youth hostels.

Sam was also an explorer on a local scale. He could often be found riding his mountain bike on the trails of the Falmouth Reservoir with an early GPS device attached to his helmet, creating trail maps.

Sam loved music all his life and began playing jazz on clarinet, piano and other instruments when he was a teenager. For many years Sam jammed with an impromptu jazz band (made up largely of personnel from WHOI) on weekends at the Silver Lounge in North Falmouth. Even during his last years in retirement homes, Sam was frequently heard humming his favorite jazz tunes.

Sam is survived by his children Eric, Vaun, Nixie and Monica; his brother George; brother-in-law Jack Heinzmann; grandsons Morgan and Jesse; and his first wife Heidi, the mother of his children. He was predeceased by his wife Holly Nichols Raymond, his brother Richard, and his sister Jean Heinzmann.

Sam was inquisitive, creative, and unafraid to risk failure, confident that he could solve any problem and leave the world a better place than he found it.

Per Sam’s wishes, his brain was donated to the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center. Family and friends plan to honor Sam with a Celebration of Life in N. Falmouth, MA during the summer of 2022.

Patricia Anne Couty (LaCour) was born May 8th, 1941 Cloutierville in the state of Louisiana to Louis and Annie LaCour. She was the youngest of six Mary, Delores, Milton, Louis, and Edmond.
Moved to Chicago around 1959 married Doc in 1961. Had her 1st child is Cynthia Marie her 2nd Lynell Anthony finally the twin's Chad and Arnold.

Walter Lee Williams was born December 14, 1969 to Dorothy Williams. I remember the day my mom showed us his picture. I was not thrilled at all. Another child, meant I was no longer the baby of the family. At an early age Walter became the family clown, always making us laugh. He hit a rough patch in his teens, and got into drugs and was sent to Dobb Ferry Children's Village, where he completed the program and graduated from High School. Upon returning home he fell in with the wrong crowd and once again got involved with drugs. He went into The Salvation Army's Adult Rehabilitation Program in the Bronx after the death of our older sister Shirley, and completed their program. He worked as an Ambulance Driver and in the Parks and Recreation Department until his blood pressure effected his kidneys and he had to go on dialysis and disability. Even through the pain and days of dialysis, Walter (aka Bishop) had a positive outlook on life. He was friendly to others, often helping out where he could. He was my baby brother, and even though we didn't talk as often as we should, he made sure to catch me up on all that was going on in his life when he did call. Walter managed to follow all his nieces and nephews on Facebook and made it his business to call me or comment when he felt they were not doing what they were supposed to. Whenever I needed him, he was there. I will miss you baby brother. Hopefully you are somewhere laughing in heaven. Rest in peace!

Takeu Paul Reeung (Recheungel) was born in Ngarard, Palau and died peacefully on January 22nd, 2021. He was an incredibly brave and religious man who lived life everyday, as if there was no tomorrow. He was very passionate about his family and friends and married his life-long friend and love, Imechei Bernardino. She fondly remembers how, on the night they met, he wouldn't take his eyes off of her from across the room. When she asked him about this night decades later, he said that he knew from that moment that he would marry her. He was a great storyteller and had many stories about his time fishing as a boy, as well as life on the island. You could often find him sitting in his chair, smiling or laughing, as he told one of his many tales. He was a bowling champion in Guam and competed in Taiwan and Japan. He loved nature, and sculpted the mesquite tree at his Arizona home so his grandchildren could climb it. During his last year in Texas, he had green onions and basil on the window sill that he cared for and nipped at regularly. He was a hard working man, retiring from Layne after working there for several decades.

He was preceded in death by his siblings Moi, Kedoi, Bukurrou, Ngetuberrai, Aribuk and Hubert, as well as his children Johnson (Mike) and Jeffrey. He is survived by his loving spouse Imechei; brother Heinrich; children Jennifer, Julie, Monica, Joe and Jud; grandchildren Kimberly (Michael), Nicolina (Joseph), Eric, Tereked, Devin, Agassi, and Destin; and great-grandchildren Jadyn, Bella, Hayli, Aurora, Austin, and Azie Saka. He is further survived by many nieces, nephews, and other relatives and friends.

We will be celebrating his life virtually through his beloved church, Palauan Evangelical Church of Guam (date and time to be announced). His niece, Dolores Smith, is asking for prayers as well as donations to be sent to the Go Fund Me listed below. Takeu was the breadwinner of the family, even in his retirement, and the money raised will help to pay for expenses related to his passing, as well as the care for his wife Imechei.

https://gofund.me/d531579c

Please post any and all stories, memories, pictures and/or videos of your time with Takeu. He will be greatly missed and, through your stories and memories, he can continue connecting all of us together.

Barbara Claire Manaugh was born in Columbus Ohio to Jacob Meyer and Blanche Stiefel Meyer on October 14, 1924, welcomed by an older brother, Allan. She was the apple of her father's eye, whom she idolized. Unfortunately, she lost her dad at only age 10; the sweet memory of him leaving an indelible mark upon her life. As a young girl, she spent much time with her grandmother, Clara Stiefel, who imparted a lifelong love of reading, cooking, and compassion for others.

At Bexley High School she was known for her musical talents, being selected as a solo vocalist at her graduation. After a brief stint at Ohio State University and in the middle of World War II, she married Richard T. Drukker, an attorney and lieutenant in the US Navy. At war's end, they moved west to Los Angeles, where Dick practiced law and they started a family. They traveled to Europe in 1958, a trip that ignited Barbara's interest in history, gourmet cooking and the arts. It prompted her to return to college, a journey that would take the next 10 years to complete. In 1968, she graduated from UCLA with honors; one of the proudest accomplishments of her life. Before Dick's death in 1971, they would build a home on a hill in Pacific Palisades that she would live in and love for the next 50 years.

Through a mutual friend, Barbara was introduced to fellow Palisadian, Carlisle Manaugh. They fell in love, discovering the greatest joys of life together. They shared a love of family, friends, food, travel, holiday decorating, dogs, gardening, dancing, and music and married in 1975. Barbara's family now also included Carlisle's three children, whom she treasured as her own. Carlisle and Barbara shared their love of a lifetime for nearly 20 years, until his passing in 1992.

Throughout her life, Barbara indulged her artistic side. From classes at Rustic Canyon Park, she became a prolific potter and silversmith, known for her free-form and whimsical designs. Well into her 90's, she painted and colored, with great concentration and creativity. She was also active in the community, leading numerous efforts on behalf of the Pacific Palisades Historical Society, the Pacific Palisades Woman's Club, the Aldersgate Retreat Center, the Pacific Palisades Library, and the Pacific Palisades Methodist Church (including its “OK Room Sewing Group). She helped to establish the Los Liones park, another proud example of her tenacity and leadership.

Above all, Barbara loved her family, which includes her six children and their spouses who survive her, Bill and Donna, Janet and Chee, Michael and Carrie, Carla and Dwight, Molly and Max, and Mats; her five grandchildren and their spouses, David and Heather, Colin and Amanda, Kristen and Lorin, Kathleen and Brett, and Orion and Saglara; her seven great grandchildren, Kelly, Rachel, Allison, Jordana, Amelia, Nathaniel and Finn; her niece Susan, and her nephew, Jack.

She was a woman of undaunted beliefs in the power of kindness, compassion, charity, curiosity, humor, social justice and love. And her example continues to inspire all those that she touched with her light.

Phillip S. “Phil” Fritz, 59 beloved husband of Mary Lou, devoted father of Shelby & Phillip Jr, loving son of Barbara (Zeller) Hadden and the late Al Fritz, brother of David (Laura) Fritz, brother in law to Mark George Fischer and Estelle E. Fischer, uncle to several nephews and a niece, passed away on Tuesday, January 19, 2021 at home with his family.

Phil was a master carpenter who loved his family, his work, and his church. He was extremely proud of his wife and his children. He was a volunteer trustee for 12+ years at Friendship United Methodist Church in Wyoming, OH., and supported his community, always helping wherever he could. Phil was loved by anyone who met him.

Due to Covid, information about a memorial will be forthcoming for friends and family.

Loving donations may be made via cash, check, or PayPal. Cash and checks can be made out to Friendship United Methodist Church including “Fritz Family” as the memo or to paypal.me/shelbykfritz
Friendship United Methodist Church
(Fritz Family)
1025 Springfield Pike
Wyoming, OH 45215