AUBURN –  Raymond W. Merrow, 82, of Lewiston peacefully passed away on Wednesday Oct. 24, 2018, at the Hospice House in Auburn with his loving family by his side and is now with God, his wife Shirley, his parents, and his sibling.

He was born in Lewiston on May 17, 1936. He was employed as Sanitarian for the City Of Lewiston for over 10 years, and was also employed as Code Enforcement Officer for the Towns of Turner, Litchfield, Green and Lisbon until his retirement in 1998.  He was a member of the United States Air Force from April 1954 to May 1974 and attained the rank of MSgt. During his military career. His stateside assignment included Ethan Allen AFB, VT; Dow AFB, ME; Beale AFB , CA. and Barksdale AFB, LA. His overseas assignments included Bermuda, Japan and Vietnam. While in Japan he deployed on special assignments to Okinawa and Taiwan. While in Taiwan he was the  leader of a specialty squad assigned in the mountainous regions of Taiwan in direct support of the troops in Vietnam. He was the author of a training manual that was adopted for use by The United States Air Force.  He was awarded The Air Force Commendation Medal with 3 oak Leaf Clusters; The Air Force Outstanding Unit Award; The Air Force Good Conduct Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters; The Army Good Conduct Medal with 3 Loops; The National Defense Medal with one Gold Star, The Vietnamese Service Medal with 3 Gold Stars The Air Force Longevity ribbon with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters; The Air Force Non-Commissioned Officers Academy Ribbon; The Marksmanship Ribbon; and The Vietnamese Campaign Medal. He was a lifetime member of The Disabled American Veterans and The Retired Enlistedmens Association. He was also a member of The America Legion, Post 153, Auburn, Maine. He and his wife were married in Burlington, Vermont on October 22, 1955 and they enjoyed 61 years of marital bliss.

He is survived by his daughters, Shelly Merrow of Lewiston, Sheila Merrow of Freeport, Rhonda Dow and her husband David Dow, Jr. of Buckfield, and Rachelle Dickinson and her husband Bart of Lewiston ; along with his “Special” Grandchildren Melissa (Merrow) Grondin and her husband Chris of Lewiston, Hannah Dickinson (who always helped him when his legs got shaky), and Hunter Dickinson (his special hunting partner) of Lewiston; Julia Dow of Buckfield who was also his crutch when he had a hard time with his legs, Scott Turner (his special duck hunting partner) and his wife Dawn of Freeport, Stephanie Cichowski of Freeport, Jonathan Chasse and his wife Alexandria of Lewiston, Timothy Chasse and his wife Branda of Sidney, Christina (Chasse) Clark and her husband Kevin of  North Carolina.  He also leaves behind his great-grandchildren, Scott Jr. and Matthew Turner of Freeport, Ella Cichowski of Freeport, Natalie, Alexis and Ronan Clark of North Carolina, Joseph Chasse of Sidney and Brynn and Kenzie Grondin of Lewiston; and many nieces and nephews; his sister Nancy and her husband Richard Lagueux of Lewiston, and his brother Richard Merrow and his wife Rita of Farmington.

He was predeceased by his spouse Shirley; parents Edward and Malvina Merrow; and a sister Lorraine and her husband Arthur Lizotte Jr.

Ray enjoyed golfing with the Senior Leagues at Prospect Hill and Pine Acres of Auburn, and with his partners Fern, Larry, Joe and Paul. He also enjoyed his annual week long camping trip to Cobbossee Lake with his wife, daughters and grandchildren, he especially enjoyed the daily competition between his daughter Sheila, his grandson Hunter, his son in laws Bart and David and himself to see who could catch and release the most and the biggest bass. The night time card games were another thing he looked forward to every evening while at camp. He also enjoyed fishing with his granddaughter Melissa and her husband Chris. He enjoyed hunting with his children, sons-in law, grandchildren  and his special hunting partner David Dow Sr. of Buckfield, whom he spent many bird hunting trips to Rangeley and other areas with. They discussed the good old days with the abundance of game and solved many of the worlds problems during their hunting trips. He enjoyed his trips to his daughter Rachelle and son-in-law Bart’s camp in Patten, Maine. Sitting on the sun porch at their lakefront home, on Cobbossee, on a warm summer day, was one of his favorites. He  thoroughly enjoyed bird hunting with his daughter Sheila, son-in-laws David and Bart and his grandson Hunter. The highlight of his hunting, was the moose hunting trip, with his sons-in-law David and Bart and his buddy David Dow Sr. ,when he bagged a 820 lb moose. He always looked forward to turkey season and crossbow hunting with his grandson Hunter. He loved watching his grandchildren Hannah, Hunter and Julia compete in sports. Family gatherings were always something he looked forward to, especially Christmas and the 4th of July.

Condolences may be shared with Raymond’s family at www.thefortingroupauburn.com

Visiting hours will be held at Fortin\Auburn on Monday Nov.  5, 2018 from 1 – 4 p.m. followed by a Celebration of Raymond’s Life at 4 p.m. also at the funeral home.  Interment with military honors will take place at St. Peter’s Cemetery in Lewiston at a later date.  Arrangements are under the care and guidance of The Fortin Group \ Plummer & Merrill Funeral Home, Cremation and Monument Services 217 Turner St. Auburn, 783-8545.

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