Raymond John Giglio Obituary (1945 - 2014)

WAYNE - Ray Giglio, 68, of Wayne passed away on July 27, 2014, at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston, surrounded by his loving family, following a courageous 11-month battle with acute myeloid leukemia. Ray was born in Hartford, CT, the youngest of four sons of Victor and Antoinette (Sambataro) Giglio. Ray grew up in Avon, CT, graduating from Avon High School in 1963. He attended MIT in Boston, graduating with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1967. While in college, he was president of the Student American Society of Mechanical Engineers, a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon, and rowed on the MIT crew team. He was employed by Avco Missile Systems, Willington, MA, from 1967-1971. In 1969 he married Marsha Hunt, and although their marriage ended in divorce in 1986, they remained friends throughout the remainder of his life. He moved to Maine in 1971, where he was employed as a mechanical engineer and later Principal Mechanical Engineer for Central Maine Power, Augusta, ME, retiring in 1999. At CMP, he was active in professional and on New England and national research committees, such as EPRI, and the Maine Association of Mechanical Engineers. He next worked as a consulting engineer and Principal Mechanical Engineer for EPro Engineering and Environmental Consulting from 1999 to 2005. He was an active member of the Augusta, ME, Kiwanis Club, serving on the Board of Directors. He was active in the Penobscot Wheelman and the Abnaki Outing Club, where he served as President, vice-president, treasurer, volunteer for the annual ski-sale, trip leader and longtime board member. He was a member of the Maine Appalachian Trail Club, serving on the Board of Directors, as Vice President, corresponding secretary, and contributing author of the Guide (5th Edition) of the Appalachian Trail in Maine. Ray was Chair of the ME State Trails Advisory Committee, serving under Gov. Curtis, which developed user policies and laws for Maine trails. In 1988 he married Jane Wing (Poitras) Giglio and moved to Wayne. Jane and Ray shared a mutual passion for bicycling, and were often seen on rides throughout the area. They were both members of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine and the Kennebec Valley Bicycle Club, where Ray was a frequent trip leader. Ray participated in the Trek Across Maine, along with Jane, for a number of years, the last ride to celebrate their 60th birthdays in 2005. Beginning in 2005, when they both turned 60, they “rode their age in miles” with friends in August each year, following a beautiful route, mapped by Ray, along the southern Maine Coast. For the past five years in March and April, Ray was an active member of the Coastal Cruisers Bicycle Club in the Venice, FL, area, where he and Jane made many new friends. Ray served as Kennebec Land Trust Steward, along with Jane, for the beautiful Sturtevant Homestead Property in Fayette. Ray delighted in the view of the Western Mountains from that property, a frequent stopping place on their bicycle rides. After moving to Wayne, Ray became active in community affairs, serving as “accidental” I.T. volunteer at the Wayne Community Church and the Cary Memorial Library. Ray served on the Church Financial and Outreach Committees, where for many years he and Jane organized the twice yearly Kents Hill School community workdays. At the Cary Library, he was webmaster and creator of frequent posters advertizing local events. He was also a member of the Wayne Historical Committee. Ray was a member of the Wayne Board of Selectman, serving for two terms, from 2007-2013. He was the Select Board representative to the Wayne Cemetery Committee. In 2010, Ray, along with Jane, was awarded the Helen Hicks Healy Award for community service, given annually at the Wayne Town Meeting. At the Town Meeting in June of 2014, Ray was honored with a Spirit of American Foundation Award for his many years of volunteerism. Ray, along with Jane, shared a love of both domestic and foreign travel, taking a memorable trip to Nepal, Thailand and Indonesia in 1993, where they hiked in the foothills of the Himalaya. They hiked the Grand Canyon twice, and took a number of bicycling vacations to France, Italy, German and Ireland. In 2006 Ray participated in an Adventure Cycling Trip in Oregon and in 2008, rode in the challenging Cycle Oregon. Ray and Jane realized a lifelong goal of traveling to Peru and Ecuador in 2011, hiking at Machu Picchu and sailing in the Galapagos Islands. Ray was a research scientist by nature, a “natural born engineer”. He was a life-long learner, and his excellent research and writing skills enabled him to make significant contributions in his professional and volunteer endeavors. As he was recovering from stem-cell transplantation in the spring of 2014, he took an on-line MIT course in Global Warming Science. A heartfelt thank you to Ray’s Dana-Farber/Brigham and Womens Cancer Care physicians, Dr. Daniel DeAngelo, oncologist, and Dr. Robert Soiffer, stem-cell transplantation, for their excellent care over the past 11 months. A special thank you to Mary Lou Hackett, LSW, for her guidance, friendship and love, and the skilled oncology nurses and PCAs at Brigham and Womens Hospital, who provided compassionate and dignified care throughout Ray’s illness. Ray is survived by his wife, Jane, step-daughter Julie Poitras-Santos, and her husband, Rick Santos, of Portland, ME, step-son Ben Poitras and wife, Lisa Horgan, of Conway, NH; brother Richard Giglio and wife, Sally, of Amherst, MA, brother John Giglio and wife, Loraine, of Hampsted, NH, brother Victor Giglio and wife, Linda, of Santa Barbara, CA; nephews J. Christopher and Andrew Giglio of Warrenton, VA, and niece Alicia Giglio of Clarence, NY; niece Jennifer Culliton and husband, Sean, of Fairport, NY; niece Jennifer Lee and husband, Nathanial, of Pleasanton, CA; niece Lindsley Boiney and husband, John, of Lexington, MA, and nine grandnephews. Calling hours are Friday, August 8, 2014 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Roberts Funeral Home and Cremation Service, 62 Bowdoin St., Winthrop. A memorial service for Ray will be held on Saturday, August 9th at 2:00 p.m. at the Wayne Community Church. Memorial donations may be made in Ray’s name to the Wayne Community Church, P.O. 300, Wayne, ME, 04284; the Cary Memorial Library, P.O. 127, Wayne, ME, 04284, or to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Adult Leukemia Program, PO Box 849168, Boston, MA, 0224-9168. Memories, condolences, photos and videos may be shared with the family on the obituary page of our website at www.khrfuneralhomes.com