Raymond Moulthrop, 87

CLARKSBURG, Mass. —  Raymond Hudson Moulthrop, 87 of Clarksburg died on the morning of Christmas Eve, Sunday, December 24, 2023 at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield with his loving wife of 45 years, Jeanne, by his side. Some of his family and his best friend had the opportunity just hours before to visit with him. Ray was born January 3, 1936 in Great Barrington, MA the son of Raymond Eldo and Ruth (Hudson) Moulthrop. He grew up in the Housatonic section of Great Barrington, attended local schools and graduated from the former Searles High School with the class of 1953.

Ray joined the US Navy in April, 1954. Upon leaving active duty, he joined the Naval Reserves, retiring on 1/1/1981 as a chief petty officer, after 26 years of service. He was proud to have served his country in the Navy. Ray was a member of the Fleet Reserve Association and was a plank holder in the US Navy Memorial in Washington, DC. During a trip to Washington, he was able to get to visit the Navy Memorial.

Following his active duty, Ray attended UMass Amherst, then graduated from the former North Adams State College in 1971 with a BS degree in physics. He joined Sprague Electric Company in 1962. When Sprague left North Adams, he worked for them in Worcester until leaving Sprague to join General Electric in Pittsfield in 1968. Ray worked for General Electric Company from 1968 in the Power Transformer division and Naval Ordnance. Part of his work at the Naval Ordnance was testing of the Bradley fighting vehicles. Ray retired in 1995 after the merger of GE with Lockheed Martin.

As a Boy Scout, Ray went to the Philmont, NM boy scout camp and attended jamboree. As a Scoutmaster for seven years in Clarksburg, he led his Troop 62 on a 50-mile hike on the Appalachian Trail. The troop also began a recycling program for the Town of Clarksburg. With his assistant scoutmaster, Steve Boisvert, he took the troop to Camp Chesterfield.

Ray was a past master for several years, beginning at the Greylock Lodge AF & AM and the first master of the combined Lafayette-Greylock Lodge AF & AM, receiving recognition for 50 years membership in 2023. Also, he was a past District Deputy Grand Master of the North Adams District. To his surprise, he was recognized for his work and received the Joseph C. Warren award from the Lodge. Ray also belonged to the Berkshire Commandery Knights Templar, York Rite chapter, the Holyoke Council of Royal and Select Masters and the Mount Holyoke Chapter of Royal Arch Masons.

With his wife, he volunteered with the Take & Eat program in Williamstown and North Adams for several years until COVID called a halt to the program. They were also drivers for holiday meals.

Ray was also a member of the Pomeroy (formerly Henshaw) chapter of the Massachusetts Sons of the American Revolution for 50 years.

As a member of the Cheshire United Methodist Church, Ray served on the Pastor – Parish Relations Committee and the Board of Trustees. As a member of the former North Adams First United Methodist Church for many years, he served on the Board of Trustees, Pastor-Parish Relations Committee, Merger Exploratory Committee, Stewardship Committees, Finance Committee, Administrative Council and was a former Sunday School teacher and usher.

On the Board of Appeals for the Town of Clarksburg, MA as chairman for 20+ years, he resigned after serving 40 years. He currently was serving on the Commission on Disabilities for Clarksburg and had been its chairman for several years. Ray also served as an election worker for the town for several years.

Ray loved visiting the family property at Echo Lake in East Charleston, VT. Then, as he and Jeanne began traveling, they visited several Civil War battlefields and many in the Presidential Range in Spotsylvania, VA. Ray found that he could become a member of the Friends of the Wilderness Battlefield in Virginia because his great grandfather fought in the battle of the Wilderness, losing a leg during the battle. After investigating his lineage, he did in fact become a member. They also loved their travel to Maine, Virginia, Branson, MO, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN. He especially enjoyed their visit to Alaska in June 2019 and getting a small plane flight to and around Denali, formerly Mt. McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America.

Ray and his wife enjoyed hosting many family reunions of the Moulthrop, Pettibone and Stuka families. He loved gardening and spending time with his ever – growing family.

A very special thank you to Dr. Douglas O’Neil, the cardiac team of BHS, the hematology/oncology team and the cancer center team. The family is grateful for the excellent care given to Ray by his doctors, of which there are many, the Clarksburg firemen and EMTs for their compassionate care, the ED team and the CCU team at BHS. His past years have been made so much easier because of the loving care he received from everyone there.

Survivors include his wife of 45 years, the former Jeanne Pettibone Robare, whom he married June 17, 1978 in Clarksburg, MA. Also, daughter, Linda Hurlbut (Craig) of Clarksburg, son Bruce Moulthrop (Maria) of Niantic, CT, stepsons, Jaxxon Crowe of Cleveland Heights, OH and Tim Robare (Rhonda) of London, AR. He also leaves seven grandchildren, Jaime Hamilton of Clarksburg, Jason Sweeney of Williamstown, John Moulthrop (Bethany) of Franklin, MA, Michael Moulthrop (Simone) of Higganum, CT, Kyle Hurlbut (Sarah) of Clarksburg, Kolin Sullivan-Bol (Ken) of North Adams and Kaci Howes (Bart) of Readsboro, VT; ten great grandchildren: Lucas, Abigail, and Madelyn Hamilton, Dakota and Owen Hurlbut, Madeline, Maeve and Jane Moulthrop, Jackson and Jenna Sullivan-Bol. He also leaves his brother-in-law, Robert Pettibone (Ann) of Narragansett, RI, many cousins, nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews and his good friends, Raymond & Barbara Ranzoni. He was predeceased by his brothers, Grayden who died on October 29, 2014 and Donald who died on November 12, 2019.

FUNERAL NOTICE: Services for Raymond Moulthrup will be on Saturday, December 30, 2023 at 11:00 AM at First Baptist Church in North Adams. Burial will be in the spring in Clarksburg Cemetery. Calling hours will be on Friday, December 29, 2023 from 5-7 PM at Flynn & Dagnoli – WEST CHAPEL 521West Main St. North Adams, MA 01247. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Company or the Northern Berkshire EMS in care of the funeral home. To add to the Book of Memories, please visit www.flynndagnolifuneralhomes.com.