Raymond Quenneville Obituary

Raymond N. Quenneville
1927 - 2024
Suffield, CT
Raymond Noel Quenneville, 96, of Suffield CT passed away peacefully on Monday May 13th, 2024 at Baystate Medical Center after a brief illness. Born on Christmas Eve 1927 (subsequently making December 23rd "Raymus Eve") to Elzear and Odea Quenneville, Raymond grew up in South Hadley, MA the youngest of five children.
Ray graduated from South Hadley High School class of 1946 where he met the love of his life and fellow classmate Anne O'Donnell. After high school Raymond joined the US Navy and was a World War Il veteran. He attended various electronic training schools and served in this country and abroad as an electronic technician.
He returned home from the Navy and married his high school sweetheart Anne on December 29, 1951. He attended college at UMass Amherst and then Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) where he earned his bachelors degree in electrical engineering in 1952, followed by his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from RPI in 1958.
An incredibly creative and innovative design engineer, Raymond had a 50+ year career working for Hamilton Standard (now Collin's Aerospace) where he was Chief Design Engineer, Jacobs Engineering and ultimately starting his own business, RNQ Design and Development. Raymond held patents for fourteen inventions including the Jake Brake, the loud compression release brake used on trucks and ambulances.
Raymond was always curious and a lifelong learner; when his grandkids were very young he was always trying (unsuccessfully) to teach them the Pythagorean theorem or how to solve a Rubix cube. He could fix anything and everything and loved home improvement projects and fixing cars and any other machine he could find. Even in his final weeks he found no reason to ever hire anyone to do anything in his home, he was self sufficient until the end. He loved Cape Cod and owned a home in Orleans, MA since the 1970s, always singing the marines song on the drive over the Sagamore bridge and driving his jeep on the beach.
Raymond is preceded in death by his grandson Jeffrey Ast as well as his siblings Vivian (Marion) and her husband Leonard; Jeanette (Dubois) and her husband Albert; Edgar and his wife Ellen; Eugene and his wife Hazel. He is survived by his devoted wife of over 72 years Anne (O'Donnell) Quenneville; his children John Quenneville of Suffield CT and Joan Quenneville and her husband Gary Ast of Windham NH; his granddaughter Julianne (Ast) Strathman and her husband Evan of Windham NH; his great grandsons Griffin and Theo Strathman; as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins and beloved friends. The family sends a very special thank you to Raymond's nephews Richard Marion and Lee Marion for their many years of help and devotion to their dear Uncle.
The family would like to extend sincere gratitude to the staff of Baystate Medical Center for their care of Raymond in his final days, as well as the town of Suffield for their support. A funeral mass and visiting hours will be celebrated at St Patrick's Church in South Hadley, MA on Monday June 10th, 2024. Visiting hours at the church are 11am - 12 pm and the Mass is at 12 pm. Burial will follow at Saint Jerome cemetery. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the American Cancer Society in honor of Ray. The O'Brien Family Funeral Home in South Hadley has been entrusted with the arrangements. For more information or to make online condolences please go to obrienfamilyfh.com.