Raymond Louis La Liberte

Raymond Louis La Liberte’ was born April 5, 1929 in Flint, Michigan to Elmer Joseph La Liberte’ (a.k.a. Buck Liberty), a tool and die maker for Flint GM and Cecilia Agnes (nee Catrell) a homemaker. Ray is pre-deceased by his beloved wife Catherine Evelyn, his siblings Joseph, Robert and Leo; he is survived by his children, his brother Roy and many nieces, nephews, and friends.

Ray attended St. Matt’s Catholic School in Flint, and it was there in seventh grade that he met the great love of his life, Catherine Evelyn. However, it wasn’t until the tenth grade that Evelyn planned a secret (thank goodness the nuns never found out) first date with Ray during the annual hayride. Ray fell in love with Evelyn’s long auburn hair she often braided, her sky blue eyes, her freckled, fair skin and fiery Irish personality. Evelyn fell in love with Ray’s slicked black hair, deep-set brown eyes, his intelligence, charisma, and perhaps that rebellious side that sometimes led to trouble, but always led to a great adventure, not to mention epic stories.

After high school Ray attended St. Joseph’s College in Indiana but often hitchhiked to Kalamazoo, Michigan to spend time with Evelyn while she attended nursing school there at Borgess Hospital.

Ray and Evelyn were married on October 14, 1950. Shortly after their honeymoon Ray was drafted into the Army and served in Korea as a medic during the Korean War. He hated being away from his new bride, and when he wasn’t given leave for the birth of their first son, Paul, Ray went AWOL to be there for Evelyn, spending time in the stockade after his return to the Army. Legend has it that he went AWOL twice more, but was always able to talk his way back into the good graces of the US Army. He did, as a matter of fact, rise to the rank of Corporal and received an honorable discharge in 1952.

After his return to the states, the La Liberte’ clan moved to Davison, and grew from one child to seven as Ray tried his hand at several ventures, such as owning a gas station, and working on the line at GM for one day and quitting. It was about this time that he was hired on at State Farm Insurance Company as a salesman.

In 1963 Ray received a promotion at State Farm to agency manager, and he and Evelyn left their close network of family and friends in the Flint/Davison area and moved into their beautiful home on Putnam in Fraser; and it was there they added one more to the clan, their youngest son, John. Ray worked at State Farm for 34 years and 3 months, until his retirement in 1992. He and Evelyn forged many lifelong friendships through his work at State Farm, often having large dinner parties at their home for his sales agents.

The home was the nexus of their family, the neighborhood, and their life together. Ray and Evelyn lived in this home for 53 of their 66-year marriage. They raised their children Paul (Mary), Tony (Diane), David (Arlene), Michele (John), Bob, Jeanne (Matthew), and John (Samantha) in this home, traveled the United States extensively in their motor home(s), and then traveled the world in their later years, but always gratefully returned to “the house”. In this home they welcomed their grandchildren David (Gretchen), Rebecca (Maggie), Tammy (Jim), Mike (Shanna), Madeline, and Ryan, their step-grandchildren Wendy, Jon, Dana (Mike), and their beloved great grandchildren Maxwell, Alexandra, Gavin, Annabelle and Harper Rose. Ray devotedly cared for Evelyn in the last years of her life in their home, and he passed peacefully away inside of it, surrounded by his children, at the end of his.

Those close to Ray knew that his last two years without Evelyn were almost unbearable for him, and though he will be missed everyday by his children, family and his close circle of lifelong friends, we also celebrate Ray and Evelyn’s reunion.

A private service and burial for immediate family will be held at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, Michigan.