Raymond Hayes Loughridge

Long time Kent resident, Raymond Hayes Loughridge, 95, passed away 26 July 2017. Ray was born 22 July 1922, on the family dairy farm in Chippewa Township, Beaver County, Pennsylvania. He was the only child of Hay Walker and Lillian Ruth (Winterburn) Loughridge.

He was survived by his wife of 69 years, Ruthe Evelyn (Coulter) "Moots" Loughridge. His four children; Susan Loughridge (Arthur Saxe) of Millfield, OH; Karyn Petty (Dale) of Cuyahoga Falls, OH; John Loughridge (Graciela) of Miami, FL; and Gregg Loughridge (Frances Kenny) of Seattle, WA. His six grandchildren: Caitlyn (Petty) Cade (Brian) of Montclair, NJ; Kevin Petty (Christina Worthington) of Washington, D.C.; and Kyle Petty of Washington, D.C.; Mara Amado-Loughridge; Sean Loughridge; and Andrew Loughridge, all of Miami, FL. His three great grandchildren: Owen and Jack Cade (NJ) and Andre Gregory (FL). His cousins Ron and Mary (Summers) Depner of North Street, MI, Richard and Joy Summers of Stark, FL, and Alison (Bogart) Steinberg of Kent, OH. He was preceded in death by his parents; his Aunt and Uncle Richard and Grace (Winterburn) Summers, and son-in-law Dr. Arthur A. Saxe.

Ray was educated at the one room McKinley School in Chippewa Twp. and graduated from Beaver Falls High School in 1940. He developed his fascination with how things worked tinkering with machinery on his parent's and grandfather's farms. He attended Geneva College then enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1942. He completed pilot's training in 1944 and flew B-24J Liberator aircraft in India, Burma, China, under the command of General Chennault as a Flying Tiger in World War II. He was the recipient of two Distinguished Flying Crosses and Cluster to the Air Medal. He was discharged in 1945 but remained in the Air Force reserves serving until 1954. He completed his engineering degree in 1947 at Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh. He retained a life-long interest in aviation and was an active member of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and co-owned a Piper Pa 16 with flying buddies Elbert Hall "Bake" Baker, III, and Ed Trautman. Many family vacations involved camping at the airport in Rockford, IL, where the annual EAA fly-in took place.

Ray worked as an engineer at the Aluminum Seal Company in Richmond, IN; at the Engineering Division Armament Laboratory, Air Material Command, Wright Patterson Air Force Base (1948-1951); as Chief Engineer designing cranes for the steel industry at H.E. Strohecker, Enon Valley, PA. The family moved to Kent after he accepted a position as a Systems Design Engineer at Goodyear Aerospace in 1955 - 1968. He was briefly employed as a Product Development Engineer at Samuel Moore and Company (now Dekoron Wire and Cable LLC). He completed his career by teaching at Kent State University's School of Technology until retirement in 1991. He earned a master's degree in education at KSU. He held National Aeronautics and Space Administration/American Society of Engineering Education Summer Faculty Fellowships at NASA's Lewis Center in 1984, 1990, and 1991. He received a Faculty Advisor Award in 1991 from the Great Lakes Region, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He was a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Ohio, member of the American Society of Photogrammetry; American Society for Nondestructive Testing; Elected Senior Member Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

Ray and Ruthe are longtime active members of the United Methodist Church of Kent. Youth Group members in the 1950's became lifelong friends, particularly Mary Newell Case and Tom and Dotty Emerick. He especially enjoyed working with the Tuesday work group on church maintenance projects, participating in the Couples Retreat, and the weekly dinners at Ray's Place. His community service over the years included: Boy Scouts, 55-year member of the Kent Kiwanis Club, Franklin Township Trustee, Portage County Zoning Board, and volunteering at the Portage County Board of Elections.

Ray and Ruthe were active supporters of the KSU Golden Flashes, attending football and basketball games into their late 80's. Ray also enjoyed vegetable gardening and was an enthusiastic member of the Kent Garden Club, tilling his plot each year until recently.

The family would like to thank Ray's friends and church congregation for the support provided in recent years that kept him engaged and active. Special thanks to Gail and Morgan Closs, Jennifer Wilson and Jeff Schumaker, and UMCK Minister of Pastoral Care Douglas Denton; caregiver Pat Robusto, the staff at Visiting Angels, particularly Cindy Davis and Barb Gifford; medical team Drs. Jahnke, Jastremski, Kay, Keyser, Rehman, and Ripkin; the staff at Bath Creek Estates and Kentridge at Golden Pond; and the staff at Summa Hospice Care.

Calling hours will be from 10:00 am, followed by an 11:00 am Memorial Service conducted by Reverend Dr. David A. Palmer and Reverend Douglas Denton on 19 August 2017 at the United Methodist Church of Kent, 1435 E Main St, Kent, OH 44240. A luncheon will follow the service at Pierson Hall at the church. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Building and Maintenance Fund of the United Methodist Church of Kent or to the charity of your choice. Graveside services and burial will be on Sunday, 20 August 2017, at 12:00 noon at Beaver Falls Cemetery, Beaver Falls, PA. Local arrangements by Bissler & Sons Funeral Home.