Raymond W. Preston

LAKE PLACID - Raymond W. Preston, 76, died suddenly July 19, 2009 at his residence on Parkside Drive, Lake Placid.

He was born in Lake Placid on Oct. 11, 1932, the son of Oren and Mildred (Ferris) Preston.

Ray was a graduate of Lake Placid High School, class of 1949, and after high school he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served during the Korean War.

He married Dorothy Hepp Jan. 29, 1955 at the Adirondack Community Church in Lake Placid. Rev. Carpenter performed the ceremony. His wife Dorothy passed away Jan. 20, 2002.

Mr. Preston was owner and auto mechanic at Ray's Exxon, later named Ray's Service Station, located at the top of Mill Hill in Lake Placid, retiring in 1998.

Ray was a member of the Adirondack Community Church and the Lake Placid Masonic Loj #834. He was a former member of the Lake Placid Board of Education, Lake Placid Pee Wee Association, the Lake Placid American Legion Post 326 and a dedicated ORDA and Lake Placid Skating Club volunteer.

He is survived by one son, Richard M. Preston and his companion Joanne Johnson of Lake Placid; one daughter, Susan Preston Devlin and her husband Arthur of Lake Placid; five brothers: Oren Preston and his wife Connie, Duane Preston and his wife Freda, Paul Preston and his wife Joanne, Robert Preston and his wife Evelyn, Bernie Preston and his wife Marie, all of Lake Placid; one sister, Dorothy Gray and her husband Hyler of Salamanca; two grandchildren, Josh and Sara Preston, both of Lake Placid; and several nieces and nephews.

One sister, Leona, died earlier.

There are no calling hours. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 23 at the Adirondack Community Church. The Rev. Mark Demers will officiate. Burial will follow at North Elba Cemetery. The Clark Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

The family suggests friends wishing to remember Ray make donations in his memory to the Lake Placid Pee Wee Association or in memory of his wife Dorothy to High Peaks Hospice.