Charles Marvin Raynor, Formerly of Westhampton, Dies January 25

Charles Marvin Raynor, formerly of Westhampton, died after a short illness on January 25, 2018, at Trinity Community, Beavercreek, Ohio. In 2014 he and his wife, Marion, moved to Ohio; she predeceased him in 2015.

Mr. Raynor, who went by “Marvin,” was born in the family home on South Road in Westhampton on April 28, 1922. He was the youngest of eight children born to Louisa and Fletcher Raynor. As a youth he spent many hours on Moriches Bay sailing, fishing and clamming with his sisters and brothers. He is a graduate of Westhampton Beach High School and the New York State Ranger School.

In September 1942, he married Marion Louise Payne of Quogue and entered the U.S. Army Air Force in November. During his service he and Marion were posted stateside to, among other places, Orlando, Florida, and Coffeeville, Kansas, until he was honorably discharged in 1945.

Along with his baby daughter, Ruth, he and his wife moved to Plymouth, New Hampshire, where he worked for the U.S. Forest Service in the White Mountains National Forest.

Settling in Westhampton he worked on Ed Winter’s fishing boat and other jobs on the bay. In 1949 a second daughter, Beatrice, was born. After working for H.F. Bishop as a land surveyor, he started his own business, CM Raynor Surveyors in the early 1960s. In 1980 his son-in-law, Stephen Marcks, joined the firm and in 1987 Mr. Raynor retired. In addition to his business, he was elected to the Southampton Town Trustees and served as chairman in his last term. At the same time, he was a member of Nassau-Suffolk Civil Engineers and the Arthur Ellis Hamm Post 834 of the American Legion.

During his retirement he spent many enjoyable hours sailing with his wife in a succession of sailboats they owned or built. At times the boats were docked on Beaver Dam Creek and other times at Bullhead Yacht Club in Southampton. Many a morning he could be found at Eckart’s Luncheonette having coffee with friends.

He was a member of the Westhampton Presbyterian Church and served on the Session. As a descendant of the earliest settler in Westhampton he took an interest in the Westhampton Beach Historical Society and served on the board.

In his 70s, he single-handedly built a 19-foot Norwalk Sharpie sailboat in his boathouse on Beaver Dam Creek.

Mr. Raynor is survived by his daughters, Ruth Louise Lapp (Henry) of Ohio, and Beatrice Marcks (Stephen) of Truxton; grandsons, Alex Lapp of Seattle, Peter Marcks (AJ) of Riverhead; granddaughters, Kathy Straley of Ohio, Melissa Coates (Bryan) of Maryland; and four great-grandchildren, Renee and Cora Marcks, Lilly Straley and Flynn Coates.

Memorial donations may be made to the Quogue Wildlife Refuge, Westhampton Beach Historical Society, or the Westhampton Presbyterian Church.

A memorial service will be held at a future date. Contact Werner-Rothwell Funeral Home in Westhampton Beach for further information.