Raymon Dean Hartsuff

Hartsuff, Raymon Dean

Died peacefully at his home on August 28, 2020. He was 91 years of age. Born in Jackson to Stella Herman and L.Z. Hartsuff, Ray was raised by his mother and step-father, William B. Fisk. He served in the U.S. Army's occupation forces in Okinawa, Japan, 1946-47, at the close of WW2, before returning to graduate from Jackson High School in 1948. A member of Jackson's famous American Legion Zouaves drill team, he performed on the Ed Sullivan show and marched in President Kennedy's inauguration parade. In 1951 he married his beloved Annie Virginia King (Nancy Hartsuff). They were married for 61 years until her death in 2012. They had two children, Katherine Hartsuff Thornton and Thomas Hartsuff. Ray served the Jackson Fire Department for 33 years as a firefighter, Captain, and Inspector, retiring in 1984 as Assistant Chief. In addition to the American Legion he was also a member of the local Moose and Elks lodges and was an avid house painter in his spare time. An active member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church since 1949, he served on its vestry and many other committees and also served there on staff in his early retirement. Preceded in death by his parents, wife, children and one granddaughter, Ray is survived by his sisters, Betty Farrand and Pat Penn, his grandchildren The Reverend Jadon D. Hartsuff, Emily and Allan Griffith, Molly Thornton, Elizabeth and Brett King, Sean and Lacie Thornton, and five great grandchildren: Evelyn, Cullen, Ryan, Connor, and Eamon, who was born just ten days before Ray died.

A Rite of Christian Burial with fire department and military veteran honors will take place on Friday, September 11, 2020. At 2:00 p.m. friends are invited to the graveside portion of the service and outdoor reception, in the Gospels section of Hillcrest Memorial Park, 1425 Elm Rd., Jackson, MI 49202. The service will also be live streamed on the church's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/stpauljxmi/

In lieu of flowers please send memorial gifts to St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 309 S. Jackson St., Jackson, MI 49201, for the commissioning of a new icon in Ray's memory and in honor of Jackson area firefighters.

Desnoyer Funeral Home - Family owned for 130 Years