Raymond James Mealy, Jr. was born on October 9, 1941 to Raymond James Mealy, Sr. & Katherine Mealy (Rupp) at Providence Hospital in Washington D.C. He grew up in the newly developed Landover Hills, MD.   He attended Landover Hills Elementary School.  His middle school years were at Leonard Hall Military Academy in Leonardtown, Maryland, which became his basis for discipline, self-confidence, respect for authority, kindness & leadership taught by the Xaverian Brothers. Being in charge of the stables, it was here that he developed his love for horses. He spent many hours learning riding skills and the care of these large animals.   He graduated with honors on May 29, 1955 earning a scholarship to St. Anselm’s Abbey School on South Dakota Ave N.E. Washington DC. There, being taught by the Benedictine monks continued his education in religion, self-confidence & instilled his voracious love of reading.  His father died when Ray was just 17 & his sister Kathleen only 9.  His mother, becoming the sole breadwinner, found it necessary to go to work.  As a result, Ray finished his senior year of high school at Bladensburg High.  He went on to take many night classes at the University of Maryland and also, at age 18, beginning his 30-year career in the personnel department with the federal government at the Bureau of Printing & Engraving. After several years there, he transferred to the General Services Administration at 7^th & D SW still in the personnel department and also heading up the administration’s blood drive. In August 1967, it was here, while soliciting blood donors, that he met Caroll Blumreich who also worked in personnel.  She ultimately became his wife on May 27, 1968, but never did donate blood.

Ray loved many things and doing so many things. He loved going to the swim competitions where daughters Terry & Linda would compete in the Princemont Swim League with the Landover Hills swim team. He loved dogs and over the years, there were many. Our first was a basset hound, but just as a pet, which led to another one from ‘field trial stock’, which led to competing them at AKC field trials, which led to trading in our 1967 Ford Mustang and buying a 1971 Chevrolet Suburban so we had the space to travel the east coast with the girls, Terry & Linda and now a couple of dogs to various events, which eventually led to many blue ribbons and two AKC field championship basset hounds.  Ray loved to bird hunt and his field champion basset hound  Sherman not only could find rabbits, but also went pheasant hunting with Ray in western Maryland.  When a neighbor in Hyattsville had a Vizsla for bird hunting, Ray was in love with this new breed.  Not long after came our first Vizsla, Roscoe, which opened up a whole new competition with field trialing and hunting with bird dogs as well as the bassets.

Moving from the Glenridge area of Hyattsville to Calvert County, into a new house & 5 acres February 1978, opened up all sorts of new interests and possibilities. While still living in Hyattsville, he enjoyed having a small vegetable garden, but with the new place, it allowed him space for a much larger garden. He continued commuting into DC where he was now working for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.  This was before buses were available, so he was driving back & forth every work day.

After 30 years with the Federal Government, in 1990, he took an early retirement at age 48, and never looked back.

He became more involved with training his bird dog, Kirby, getting AKC field championship, master hunter, and obedience titles on him. His early love for horses came in handy when he realized that the field trials were better from horseback which led to his first horse Levi. Levi nearly killed Ray 30 years ago at River Hill Farm in Howard County. He was thrown to the ground and had 11 broken ribs-one that missed puncturing his aorta by a fraction of an inch, 4 broken vertebrae, a collapsed lung. He spent 4 days in Howard County Hospital and was finally stable enough to be transported by ambulance to Calvert Hospital where he spent another 30 days. Those vows, “in sickness & in health were certainly put to the test.”  This is where his longtime friendship with Jack Ward began. Ray came home & was relegated to a hospital bed for yet another month. Just 4 months later, Ray bought another horse, Dakota. And then there was the 2^nd horse, Michael to follow. So many stories Ray & Jack could tell.   Ray served on the board of directors for the Conestoga Vizsla Club for many years. In 1999, Ray & Jack Ward were the founders of the AKC Southern Maryland English Setter Club, hosting numerous field trials, hunting tests and training seminars throughout those years.

He put many more field championships and master hunter titles on many more of our Vizslas and English Setters. He judged at many of hunting tests and field trials and was always anxious & willing to help newcomers to the sport.

He took advantage of every day of his retirement, volunteering for the Calvert County Literacy Program, teaching non-violent young men at the local prison to read or improve their reading skills. He volunteered for Christmas in April and Meals on Wheels. He became an active member at the Huntingtown United Methodist Church cooking for their spring & fall dinners, attending many Bible study groups, helping at the vacation Bible school, going on the mission trips to Kentucky & North Carolina with the Appalacian Service Project and serving on the church’s board of trustees for several years until his health no longer allowed him to continue. He volunteered at the homeless shelter & during Safe Nights.

He worked as a cook for a year at Red Hot & Blue restaurant when it first opened in Prince Frederick. He cooked the best ribs and his dream was to open his own bar-b-que place.

He enjoyed carving duck decoys and with the help of friend Fred Cox, created several pieces of our furniture.

He loved to fish & he loved trot lining for crabs on the Patuxent River. He couldn’t wait to get a bushel of crabs & share with friends & family on a summer weekend along with fresh vegetables from his garden. Ray also enjoyed his beer-especially Honey Brown.

Ray loved to read and he read several newspapers each day, along with a couple of books a week, numerous magazines and always reading and re-reading his Bible. He always said, “I’m a veritable fountain of useless information.”  He was a member of a book club which he thoroughly enjoyed. He loved to cook and enjoyed especially going thru his numerous Chinese cookbooks and planning what new and exotic dishes to prepare for dinner.  He cooked most of the meals until his health no longer allowed him that pleasure.

Ray loved his God, his family and many friends.  He always looked forward to attending his great grandchildren’s sporting events He is survived by his wife Caroll of 53 years, his daughters, Terry Walker & Linda Fones, granddaughters Jessica & Lauren, great-grandchildren Nathaniel, Victoria & Liam, his sister Kathleen & his faithful Vizsla, Junior, who was by his side when he passed.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his very dear friends Bill Norris, Jack Ward & Les Weir & by many of his much-loved dogs, especially, Spot, Seymour, Lucille, Jake & Kirby.

God gave us memory, so we could have flowers in December. Thanks for so many memories.

In Lieu of Flowers, donations may be made in Ray’s memory to:

Huntingtown United Methodist

4020 Hunting Creek Rd.

Huntingtown, MD 20639

Calvert Hospice

238 Merrimac Ct.

Prince Frederick, MD 20678

Calvert Animal Welfare League

1040 N. Prince Frederick Blvd.

Prince Frederick, MD 20678

The service for Ray will be livestreamed on the Huntingtown United Methodist Church Facebook Page and can be accessed by using the following link  https://www.facebook.com/huntingtownunitedmethodistchurch