Ray was my step-grandpa. My two brothers and I were his only grandchildren and since we lived two states away, we didn't visit often. Two of our visits in 1959 and 1962 were for the entire summer where we got to love Grandpa Ray.
Raymond Frederick Schambers was born April 27, 1916 to Edmund and Katherine (Stieb) Schambers. Ray met Thelma in Alaska during World War 2 while he was serving with the U. S. Army. He was 20 years younger than his wife and only eight years older than his new step-son. They married sometime after moving back to California. He used to laugh that he added ten years to his age and she subtracted ten from hers and then they were both the same. A carpenter, he built their two-bedroom home at 3710 Montrose Avenue in La Crescenta, California. He and his new step-son got along great in the early years and his step-son's first son carried Raymond as his middle name. All of the three grandchildren loved Ray. He always was working in his shop in his garage and always had time for them. He took them to Disneyland in 1959 and bought them their first bicycles.
As a carpenter, he helped build many of the office buildings in Hollywood and Los Angeles County. In the 1960's, while working with wet wood, his hand was drawn into a table saw. He lost the majority of his fingers and part of his right hand. He got a financial settlement which he used to buy a bar outside of Watts in Los Angeles. I think it was called Lucky's or Mr. Lucky's but can't be sure as it was considered improper for we children to go there. He sometimes lived there in an upstairs room. Ownership of the bar was very lucrative until the Watts riots. He still kept the bar but had lost alot of the regular trade. Ray was always self-conscious about his maimed hand and would usually keep it hidden in his pocket. I don't recall ever seeing his hand once it was maimed.
His marriage to Thelma wasn't as strong as it had been in the beginning and he no longer got along with his step-son. He rarely came home until Thelma became an invalid from her emphysema. He faithfully took care of her for her final two years. He was very devoted to her final days.
After being widowed, Ray began to do carpentry and remodeling projects for his sister Josephine Amaya's family. He suffered a series of paralyzing strokes and suffered from dementia. He died at the age of 72 on November 9, 1988. A living will he had signed gave his entire estate to his next door neighbor, Paul. His niece got a lawyer to no avail. She sent word that she had Ray cremated and buried with Thelma's ashes. The neighbor let her have a box of family photos which she forwarded to his step-granddaughter, Margie. The photos of Ray and his army buddies doing construction at Elmendorf Army Base were accepted by Elmendorf's museum.
Raymond was buried in the same cemetery with his parents.
Raymond Frederick Schambers was born April 27, 1916 to Edmund and Katherine (Stieb) Schambers. Ray met Thelma in Alaska during World War 2 while he was serving with the U. S. Army. He was 20 years younger than his wife and only eight years older than his new step-son. They married sometime after moving back to California. He used to laugh that he added ten years to his age and she subtracted ten from hers and then they were both the same. A carpenter, he built their two-bedroom home at 3710 Montrose Avenue in La Crescenta, California. He and his new step-son got along great in the early years and his step-son's first son carried Raymond as his middle name. All of the three grandchildren loved Ray. He always was working in his shop in his garage and always had time for them. He took them to Disneyland in 1959 and bought them their first bicycles.
As a carpenter, he helped build many of the office buildings in Hollywood and Los Angeles County. In the 1960's, while working with wet wood, his hand was drawn into a table saw. He lost the majority of his fingers and part of his right hand. He got a financial settlement which he used to buy a bar outside of Watts in Los Angeles. I think it was called Lucky's or Mr. Lucky's but can't be sure as it was considered improper for we children to go there. He sometimes lived there in an upstairs room. Ownership of the bar was very lucrative until the Watts riots. He still kept the bar but had lost alot of the regular trade. Ray was always self-conscious about his maimed hand and would usually keep it hidden in his pocket. I don't recall ever seeing his hand once it was maimed.
His marriage to Thelma wasn't as strong as it had been in the beginning and he no longer got along with his step-son. He rarely came home until Thelma became an invalid from her emphysema. He faithfully took care of her for her final two years. He was very devoted to her final days.
After being widowed, Ray began to do carpentry and remodeling projects for his sister Josephine Amaya's family. He suffered a series of paralyzing strokes and suffered from dementia. He died at the age of 72 on November 9, 1988. A living will he had signed gave his entire estate to his next door neighbor, Paul. His niece got a lawyer to no avail. She sent word that she had Ray cremated and buried with Thelma's ashes. The neighbor let her have a box of family photos which she forwarded to his step-granddaughter, Margie. The photos of Ray and his army buddies doing construction at Elmendorf Army Base were accepted by Elmendorf's museum.
Raymond was buried in the same cemetery with his parents.
Ray was my step-grandpa. My two brothers and I were his only grandchildren and since we lived two states away, we didn't visit often. Two of our visits in 1959 and 1962 were for the entire summer where we got to love Grandpa Ray.
Raymond Frederick Schambers was born April 27, 1916 to Edmund and Katherine (Stieb) Schambers. Ray met Thelma in Alaska during World War 2 while he was serving with the U. S. Army. He was 20 years younger than his wife and only eight years older than his new step-son. They married sometime after moving back to California. He used to laugh that he added ten years to his age and she subtracted ten from hers and then they were both the same. A carpenter, he built their two-bedroom home at 3710 Montrose Avenue in La Crescenta, California. He and his new step-son got along great in the early years and his step-son's first son carried Raymond as his middle name. All of the three grandchildren loved Ray. He always was working in his shop in his garage and always had time for them. He took them to Disneyland in 1959 and bought them their first bicycles.
As a carpenter, he helped build many of the office buildings in Hollywood and Los Angeles County. In the 1960's, while working with wet wood, his hand was drawn into a table saw. He lost the majority of his fingers and part of his right hand. He got a financial settlement which he used to buy a bar outside of Watts in Los Angeles. I think it was called Lucky's or Mr. Lucky's but can't be sure as it was considered improper for we children to go there. He sometimes lived there in an upstairs room. Ownership of the bar was very lucrative until the Watts riots. He still kept the bar but had lost alot of the regular trade. Ray was always self-conscious about his maimed hand and would usually keep it hidden in his pocket. I don't recall ever seeing his hand once it was maimed.
His marriage to Thelma wasn't as strong as it had been in the beginning and he no longer got along with his step-son. He rarely came home until Thelma became an invalid from her emphysema. He faithfully took care of her for her final two years. He was very devoted to her final days.
After being widowed, Ray began to do carpentry and remodeling projects for his sister Josephine Amaya's family. He suffered a series of paralyzing strokes and suffered from dementia. He died at the age of 72 on November 9, 1988. A living will he had signed gave his entire estate to his next door neighbor, Paul. His niece got a lawyer to no avail. She sent word that she had Ray cremated and buried with Thelma's ashes. The neighbor let her have a box of family photos which she forwarded to his step-granddaughter, Margie. The photos of Ray and his army buddies doing construction at Elmendorf Army Base were accepted by Elmendorf's museum.
Raymond was buried in the same cemetery with his parents.
Raymond Frederick Schambers was born April 27, 1916 to Edmund and Katherine (Stieb) Schambers. Ray met Thelma in Alaska during World War 2 while he was serving with the U. S. Army. He was 20 years younger than his wife and only eight years older than his new step-son. They married sometime after moving back to California. He used to laugh that he added ten years to his age and she subtracted ten from hers and then they were both the same. A carpenter, he built their two-bedroom home at 3710 Montrose Avenue in La Crescenta, California. He and his new step-son got along great in the early years and his step-son's first son carried Raymond as his middle name. All of the three grandchildren loved Ray. He always was working in his shop in his garage and always had time for them. He took them to Disneyland in 1959 and bought them their first bicycles.
As a carpenter, he helped build many of the office buildings in Hollywood and Los Angeles County. In the 1960's, while working with wet wood, his hand was drawn into a table saw. He lost the majority of his fingers and part of his right hand. He got a financial settlement which he used to buy a bar outside of Watts in Los Angeles. I think it was called Lucky's or Mr. Lucky's but can't be sure as it was considered improper for we children to go there. He sometimes lived there in an upstairs room. Ownership of the bar was very lucrative until the Watts riots. He still kept the bar but had lost alot of the regular trade. Ray was always self-conscious about his maimed hand and would usually keep it hidden in his pocket. I don't recall ever seeing his hand once it was maimed.
His marriage to Thelma wasn't as strong as it had been in the beginning and he no longer got along with his step-son. He rarely came home until Thelma became an invalid from her emphysema. He faithfully took care of her for her final two years. He was very devoted to her final days.
After being widowed, Ray began to do carpentry and remodeling projects for his sister Josephine Amaya's family. He suffered a series of paralyzing strokes and suffered from dementia. He died at the age of 72 on November 9, 1988. A living will he had signed gave his entire estate to his next door neighbor, Paul. His niece got a lawyer to no avail. She sent word that she had Ray cremated and buried with Thelma's ashes. The neighbor let her have a box of family photos which she forwarded to his step-granddaughter, Margie. The photos of Ray and his army buddies doing construction at Elmendorf Army Base were accepted by Elmendorf's museum.
Raymond was buried in the same cemetery with his parents.
Gravesite Details
Ray's family put his wife's ashes in his coffin with him.
