Raymond 'Ray' Joseph Talbot

Raymond J. "Ray" Talbot, of Manchester, beloved husband of Veronica Talbot, died on Monday, May 4, 2020, at the age of 97. Born in Springfield, Massachusetts on February 20, 1923, he was the son of Joseph and Alma Talbot, both of whom were born and raised in Canada in Quebec/New Brunswick Provence respectively. Ray grew up in the Frog Hollow section of Hartford with his sister, Rita, and graduated from Hartford Public High School in 1941. After high school, he started working as a machinist at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in East Hartford but his employment was interrupted by World War II, where he served proudly and honorably in the United States Army, stationed on the hot and humid island of New Guinea, Indonesia. Upon his discharge, Ray returned to Pratt & Whitney where he remained until retiring after 46 years of faithful service. Ray was fortunate to meet his future wife, Veronica ("Ronnie") Matthews of Queens, New York, while partying in Watch Hill, Rhode Island with his "crew". Ray and Ronnie were married on November 5, 1955 and would have celebrated 65 years of marital bliss this year. They spent their marriage productively, traveling to almost every state in the country and to many of the countries of the world. They enjoyed skiing in the winter and riding bicycles in the summer. They loved to dance and spent many a weekend at the Eastover Resort in Western Massachusetts, where they usually stayed up all night dancing and carousing. Ray is survived by his wife, Ronnie, their two children, Patricia A. Cella and her husband, Tom, of Manchester, CT, and William Talbot of New Hartford, CT, his sister, Rita Talbot of Pacific Grove, California, and their grandchildren, Matt, Nikki and Jack Cella, all of whom miss him dearly.