Raymond Kent Selander, 75, of East Fishkill, NY peacefully graduated to his heavenly home on July 1, 2019 after a long 15-year battle with cancer. Ray had an amazing testimony as to how God preserved him for so many years while battling thyroid, pancreatic (5 yrs.) and multiple myeloma cancers. His loving and supportive family was always there to meet his needs. His firm belief in Jesus as his Lord and Savior gave him his ultimate peace.
Ray was born June 30, 1944 to Karl Alfons and Elizabeth from Aland and Sweden. Ray grew up living a vibrant youth in Little Ferry, New Jersey. He graduated from Ridgefield Park High School (NJ) in 1962. During one summer in high school, Ray worked on the Distant Early Warning line system (DEW) in Greenland. He received a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineer from Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ in 1966. While at Stevens he was the President of the Society of Underwater Engineers (S.U.E.). After graduating, Ray joined IBM Kingston as an electrical engineer and then 13 years later to IBM East Fishkill for a total of 30 years. While working at IBM, he earned a Masters in Science in Electrical Engineering from New York University. At IBM he was responsible for filing many successful patents during his career and was the first to design an intelligent robot to handle materials. After IBM some of the 10 companies he worked for included Helen Hayes Hospital, Capintech, TROL-A-TEMP (Honeywell), FALA, ASD, Pillar, Inc. and International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF).
On June 11, 1966, Ray married his sweetheart Susan Phykitt of Oradell, NJ. They were blessed with three amazing children Lisa, Karl and Jon who they lovingly raised in the Hudson Valley. Family always came first for Ray and he was a devoted father and grandfather.
Ray’s mother taught him to play the accordion at age 6. He learned the trumpet and coronet during high school band and performed and marched with the Little Ferry Boy’s Band and the high school band. During high school, he also played in a brass trio in church. He later bought a DuoVox accordion organ and played for family gatherings and in numerous church events until 2018. Ray grew up doing Sokol gymnastics, running track, playing basketball, water skiing and scuba diving. He was very active in Boys Scouts and earned his God and Country Award.
Deep sea fishing aboard his boat the Svensk Fin was a long-time love. He found great joy in bringing new people out fishing to experience that passion firsthand. His other outdoor love was hunting. Ray was a gifted inventor and problem solver who created and crafted many clever items through the years to either fix something that was broken or make something new or better and more functional. Ray was always a very active servant of Christ and through the years attended many Baptist churches. He was a Youth Group Leader for 20 years, a Deacon and Treasurer in several churches.
In addition to his wife Susan, Ray is survived by his sons Karl (Bobbi-Jo) of Carmel, NY and Jon (Jennifer) of Salt Point, NY, son-in-law Robert Rosenberger of Marlboro, NY; sister Rhoda Conant of Bridgewater, NJ; sister-in-law Bette Hamstra (Harold)of Knoxville, TN; step brother Andrew Hagel (Jane) of Norristown, PA; step sister Donna Owen (Bill) of Norristown, PA; grandchildren, Brandon and Tyler Rosenberger of Marlboro, NY, Kayla, Alex and Joy Selander of Carmel, NY, Ryan and Jonathan Selander of Salt Point, NY; nieces Heather Hamstra and Kirsten Conant, nephews Andrew Hamstra and Stephen Conant and innumerable friends who love him dearly. Ray was pre-deceased by his daughter Lisa Rosenberger in 2018.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, July 13, 2019 at 11:00 am at the First Baptist Church of Rhinebeck, 9 Astor Drive, Rhinebeck, NY.
Donations in Ray’s memory may be sent to Inheritance of Hope, P.O. Box 90, Pisgah Forest, NC 28768; (914) 213-8435 http://InheritanceOfHope.org or the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society https://donate/lls.org/lls