Raymond B. Wolkind
1942 – 2022
Funeral Livestream: Jan 13, 2022 10:00 AM
Please click here to view the recording
Raymond Barnard Wolkind, age 79, died peacefully at home in Plainsboro, NJ on Tuesday, January 11, 2022.
Ray was born on October 25, 1942 in Buffalo, NY to Edward Wolkind and Sally Ratner Wolkind. He was a graduate of the University of Buffalo. Ray was an executive with Sears Roebuck for many years. He went on to a successful 30-year career in real estate, eventually becoming part owner/broker of RE/MAX of Princeton. He also proudly served as president of the Mercer County Association of Realtors.
Ray was hardworking, but he always found time to enjoy music, golf, cars, bowling and watching Buffalo Bills games. He will be remembered for his Dad-jokes, his love of ice cream, googas (pretzels), olives, fruity candy, and his love of cruises and beach vacations. He loved spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren.
Ray is survived by his wife, Rita Wolkind, three daughters: Lisa Wolkind (the late Scott Waybrant), Eve Wasserman (Glenn), Andrea DeVelin (Dan), a sister Carole Weingarten (Norman), a brother-in-law Mark Fishkin (Lorrie), a sister-in-law Ruthie Wolkind, six grandchildren: Robyn, Becca, Charlie, Max, Scott and Geoff, and many nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. He was predeceased by his brother Harold, sister-in-law Maxine and brother-in-law Roger.
Funeral services are 10:00 am on Thursday, January 13 at Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel, 1534 Pennington Road, Ewing, NJ. Masks are required for all in attendance, safety protocols are strictly observed. The service will be available to view via Zoom livestream (see link at top of page.)
Burial will follow at Ewing Cemetery.
Shiva will be observed (masks required) at the Wolkind residence in Plainsboro from 2 – 4pm on Thursday and Friday.
In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests memorial contributions be made to Temple Micah (temple-micah.org) or to the Adler Aphasia Center (adleraphasiacenter.org)
My condolances to all who knew and loved Ray. I hold many memories of our family gatherings and childhood fun when growing up in Buffalo. So happy he and Rita visited us when they were in California. What a lovely person!
Ray will be missed by many.
Dear Eve and family,
Your dear father always had a twinkle in his eye. He had an infectious laugh. He loved to learn and would simply eat up info on any topic someone shared. He was terrific at board games. I loved listening to him talk about cars with Glenn and Dawn even though I had no idea! I loved seeing him play with the girls. I loved how tenderly he looked at Rita. He was simply an amazing man.
I met Ray the first day of high School. He sat in front of me in homeroom. Throughout high school. He was always joking, especially when we took Personal Typing together.
Later on, his sister Carole married my brother Norman. So, we did have mutual relatives.
He will be missed dearly.
My sincere condolences to Eve & Glenn and all others of this family. May God grant peace to the department soul, his memories will live in the minds of all those left behind.
Ray was my lifelong friend beginning in 9th grade at Bennett and through our years at TBZ and UB. After we both left Buffalo we saw less of each other but spoke on the phone and met every year or so. Whenever we were together the years melted away and it always felt like coming home. He was always himself; a caring, warm and special friend. I will miss his insightful conversations and wisdom and the years ahead will not be the same without him. He left us far too soon.
Our condolences to all who knew and loved Ray. We share memories of Rita & Rita at the support group and their sharing. It was so nice they visited Grounds for Sculpture and made the trip a wonder.
Ray will be missed by many.
Dave & Richard (R J)
Lovely uncle Ray will be terribly missed for his gentle spirit , interest in all around him, and his huge love of auntie Rita !!! Loved his visits to California and consider then the cutest sweetest couple ever . They came to my wedding with lots of east coast family and made my ohana grow !!! Sending so much love to my east coast ohana and know you’ve will be supporting each other and sharing your family memories to keep his amazing spirit alive !!!! Aloha uncle Ray , till we meet again
Words cannot begin to describe how deeply I feel the loss of Ray. We grew up together with the high school and college together and stay close throughout our adult lives. My best memory of Raywas one summer when we seem to be bored so we decided to go on a trip. Ray had just bought a 1955 Ford clunker. Our trip took us to the thousand Islands where we parked the car in the parking ramp. As we return to the car we noticed a stream of oil flowing down the parking ramp. The stream is coming from his car. We all laughed and enjoyed the moment of camaraderie. We regularly stayed in touch throughout our adult lives. I will have great memories of our time together and what a wonderful person he was.
My condolences to Andrea & Dan and to all who loved Ray. Praying for your peace and comfort during this time.
My condolences to Rita and the family. Ray and Rita are very special people and we love them very much. Ray was a very happy person and enjoyed life. They are both very special to us.
Our condolences to all who knew and loved Ray. We share memories of Rita & Rita at the support group and their sharing
My condolences to Rita and the family. Ray was a kind neighbor and I always enjoyed talking to him, and seeing him and Rita out for walks in the neighborhood. His presence will be missed.
How fortunate I was to be sitting at a runway table for our Bennett class reunion when a conversation came up about each other’s jobs and I heard a soft voice say, I have a real estate brokerage firm in Princeton nj and of course the coincidence is we were looking to move to Jersey to be closer to our kids and three months later this soft voice of Ray Wolkin had us set up with one of his brokers and we were moving in.
Yes Ray was a classmate but through hi h school we shared a different circle of friend; now he and Rita were our go to people and close friends. Need a doctor, lawyer, dentist See Ray
Coffee some mornings, bills and Rutgers talk and shared dinners and theater evenings on their big screen and of course medicine and politics
We shared concern over our wife’s medical conditions and Ray never complained and when he had chosen hospice to guide him, our phone calls were always positive, his only worry was Rita, his children and grandchildren
Until this sad event I never realized the extent of their family
To Rita and your family, Karen and I extend
Our sympathy and Bessing and may Rays memory always be your shining light
Love
The Coopers
I had the pleasure to work with Ray at Remax over 20 years ago. He was a kind, supportive and a true real estate professional . My condolences to his family.
A true gentleman. I’ll miss you Ray, rest in peace.
Rita and Family,
My thoughts and prayers are with you! I have many fond memories of working with Ray and you!
I think I met Ray when one of the girls bumped into our car at a bank drive-in. Anyway, a great guy,
colleague and friend. He will be missed.
Uncle Ray will be missed by all who knew and loved him. His memory lives on as a noble, strong, witty, sensitive, inquisitive man. I was lucky to have him as an uncle and am grateful for the times we spent together. Mostly I am grateful to have been able to witness what an amazing husband and father he was to Aunt Rita, Lisa, Eve and Andrea. His love was and will remain palpable to us all. The ceremony today was incredibly loving and meaningful to observe. Please know I am thinking of you all and sending my deepest condolences.
Rita and Ray have been a huge part of the JFK family and so important to me in the ten years I’ve been working at JFK. I will always remember the love they shared and Ray’s wonderful wit. Sending my condolences to the entire Wolkind family.