Friday, January 12, 2018
On behalf of my family, I’d like to thank you all for joining us in celebrating the life of our beloved dad, pa, and husband, Raymond Cullen.
Dad was the youngest boy of 10 children, born and raised in Cheshire. He never really talked much about his childhood. One of the few stories he told, about his dad bringing home the old “five seater outhouse” after the school had built a new one, confirmed that he didn’t have it easy!
As mom has said so many times, especially over these past few weeks, “He worked hard all his life . . .” At a very young age, dad did farm work and set up pins at the Cheshire Lanes, where his love of bowling began. He attended Cheshire High School where he played sports, including basketball and golf. I might be mistaken, but I think he also worked shagging golf balls at the driving range.
He eventually went to work at a little market uptown in Cheshire, owned by two brothers, Pete and Marvin, called “The Garden Spot.” That’s where he learned to cut meat. I remember the sawdust on the floors, the giant metal hooks in the cooler, and my brother and I eating the raw hamburger that daddy made, fresh out of the giant meat grinder. Things sure were much different back then! He went on to work for several food store chains, eventually retiring from the A & P Company, as a seafood and meat department manager. During the early 60’s dad served in the National Guard. Eric, his grandson, especially loved the stories pa told of driving trains.
Dad met his lovely bride of 56 years through a friend and they married on Thanksgiving Day in 1961. Mom calls that the year that no one cooked a turkey! They went on to have three children. To this day mom doesn’t know how he managed it, but in the early 70’s they built a house and moved the family to Wolcott. My brother, sister, and I have fond memories of growing up on Lake Hitchcock. As do his grandchildren.
Throughout his life, dad did work hard to provide for us. We three kids definitely never made raising us easy – not on either of our parents! We were truly blessed to have a dad who stood by and never gave up on us, each in our own darkest hours.
His two grandchildren brought tremendous joy to his life! He hardly missed a game throughout the years that Eric played youth baseball and each time anyone went to visit him in the nearly three years he spent in nursing homes, one of the first things he’d ask is where’s Lexie? How’s Lexie doing?
Dad enjoyed the simple things in life. For many years he bowled duckpin in leagues and tournaments including one that was televised! He took us on some family vacations, tossed a ball with us now and then, and helped us build a cool fort with sticks and leaves. He talked me down from a tree I had no trouble climbing up. I must have been up there for hours until he came home from work and rescued me. We spent many Sundays with our aunts, uncles, and cousins at grandma Cullen’s house on Wallingford road in Cheshire playing in the brook, even though every Sunday all the adults told us not to. We also spent a lot of time with the McKeon’s, mom’s sister Jewel’s family. Sometimes we went to Windsor and other times they came here to Cheshire to picnic at Mixville beach. Dad and Phil, his brother-in-law, played golf, went to Jai Lai, and took trips to the horse track, leaving mom and aunt Jewel to prepare food and mind the kids. They’d get back in time to light the grill and call that, “cooking out!” Dad was truly heartbroken when his best buddy Phil passed away, decades ago.
I know some of my favorite times growing up were watching and helping our dad fix cars, and things around the house . . . his way, of course! I think this has been both a blessing and a curse on all of us! Nevertheless, we have those memories to cherish.
Often, in retirement, he’d get up in the morning and say to mom, “I think I’ll take a ride.” She knew that was code for him ending up at his favorite place of all, the casino! We’re grateful to Ray for taking him there back n October. Dad couldn’t have been happier! It was a great day for dad to have that time with his son, not to mention the twenty-five dollars he came out ahead!
Special thanks to Terri Mae for preparing meals for dad while he was still at home . . . meals as close to what the others at the table were eating, while keeping him on his special diet. It was quite a challenge to get over on him!
To all our friends and family, we deeply appreciate your thoughts, prayers, and your time spent coming out to share in paying our last respects. Please feel free to stop by and see mom at the house. Special thanks to Ray and his girlfriend Lori for moving in with mom last year so she is not alone.
As siblings, we three didn’t and still don’t often agree, but we do all cherish the memories we have of watching our parents dance. Surrounded by his loving family, in his room at the nursing home on the day before he passed, we played the music that he loved, we laughed and cried while sharing our favorite memories, and mom sang to him and told us the story of how they’d met. May our dad, our Pa, mom’s beloved husband, rest in peace, as he waits at Heaven’s door for his loving wife to have their next dance.
I love you, daddy.
Your loving daughter,
Robin
xoxo
