Raymond, Henry Forster
Born April 22 in Sunderland, UK. Died peacefully on March 9, 2008, Nanaimo, B.C. During World War II he saw action as a British Army soldier (Sapper) in N. Africa, and Greece and was captured in Crete. He was a prisoner of war for four years, mostly in Germany. On May 1st, 1948 he married Beryl, his childhood sweetheart. In 1948, the newlyweds emigrated to Toronto. After being employed for several years as a Quantity Surveyor, primarily in Vancouver and Nanaimo, he enrolled in SFU and later UBC to earn his teaching degree and became a teacher on Vancouver Island, a profession he thoroughly enjoyed. Upon retirement, he and Beryl, also a former teacher, travelled extensively, but he was always happy to return to Nanaimo and their adopted homeland.
Ray leaves to mourn Beryl, his wife of 60 years, his three children, Peter (wife Lanyan Chen), Kate (husband Bill Munn) and Ian (wife Masako Fujiwara) and his grandchildren Simon, Hannah, and May. Among the many other people that will greatly miss Ray are his nephews, David Kanaar (wife Jennifer), Stephen Johnson (wife Wendy), Stephen Forster (wife Elizabeth) and nieces Barbara Forster and Janet Brand (husband Ken), as well as the Southern family, Ron, Gillian, (husband Doug) and Roger (wife Kerri).
For his entire life, Ray was an active Christian. During his years in Nanaimo, Ray was very involved in the activities at the First Baptist Church, Nanaimo.
A memorial service will be held Saturday March 15th at 1:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 1650 Waddinton Rd., Nanaimo, B.C.
Telford’s Mid-Island Memorial Services
751-2254