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On November 30, 1992, Mark Raynor, then a Southampton Town Police officer, was the first to respond to what he thought was a disturbance call in Flanders. Instead, he found a home completely engulfed in flames and a frantic woman whose infant was still trapped inside the house.
With little regard for his own safety, Mr. Raynor, also a volunteer with the Westhampton Beach Fire Department and a former chief, entered the back of the house without any firefighting gear and crawled along the floor until reaching the crib. Unable to tip the crib, Mr. Raynor stood up, exposing himself to deadly smoke and flames. He grabbed the infant, evacuated the house and immediately began CPR until paramedics arrived.
The story has a sad ending—the infant died of smoke inhalation—but Mr. Raynor’s actions that day will forever be remembered by those who knew him as heroic. For his unselfish actions, Mr. Raynor later that year was awarded the Medal of Valor by Suffolk County and named the New York State Police Officer of the Year.
“I remember that day like it was yesterday,” his longtime friend Paddy Smith of Westhampton Beach said this week. “He didn’t want the notoriety that came with it—Mark was a very private person and didn’t want all of the stuff that comes with being a hero.”
On Sunday, more than 250 people filled the Church of the Immaculate Conception on Quiogue to pay their final respects to Mr. Raynor, a lifelong resident of Westhampton Beach who died last week following a 21-month battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 58.
Born on August 29, 1954, Mr. Raynor, who served on the Westhampton Beach Village Board for a dozen years, was well-known for his dedication to the community that he called home for his entire life.
“He was a true gentleman and a class act,” his eldest son, James, said last Thursday. “He cared for his family and everyone around him—he was the nicest man in the world.”
After graduating from Westhampton Beach High School, Mr. Raynor joined the Southampton Town Police Department in 1981, where he would work for the next 15 years before retiring in 1996 due to injury.
For the past 39 years, Mr. Raynor had also offered his services as a volunteer firefighter with the Westhampton Beach Fire Department, and, from 1989 to 1992, served as chief. Most recently, he sat on the fire district’s executive board, which makes administrative decisions within the department and acts separately from the fire commissioners, and often organized events sponsored by the fire department, like its annual Christmas party.
“He always put his family, or anyone else, before himself,” Mr. Smith said. “I don’t think I can tell you one story that explains how respected he was and how much he did for the village, fire department and police department.”
To further serve his community, Mr. Raynor successfully ran for Westhampton Beach Village trustee in 1993 and was subsequently reelected five times. He served as deputy mayor for a decade, from 1995 to 2005, mostly when Robert Strebel was mayor. Mr. Raynor lost his reelection bid in 2005.
“He was a solid worker for the police department and a hard working trustee and deputy mayor,” Westhampton Beach Village Mayor Conrad Teller said this week. “He was an all-around solid citizen for the village.”
When reached last Thursday, longtime friend and fellow former village trustee Ora Belle “Ridgie” Barnett said she will miss Mr. Raynor, stating that she valued the time they spent together serving on the board.
“He was always so positive about the village,” Ms. Barnett said. “He always put the village’s interests ahead of his own and he always did his homework when we were working on projects—it is just so sad to have him gone.”
On September 23, 1979, Mr. Raynor married the love of his life, Terry Smith, his high school sweetheart. They had three sons, James, Justin and Connor.
According to James Raynor, his father said that marrying the love of his life—and having three children with her—was the greatest accomplishment of his life.
Visiting hours were held on Saturday afternoon and evening at the Follett and Werner Funeral Home on Mill Road in Westhampton Beach. Firematic services were held Saturday night at the funeral home. A funeral Mass was held on Sunday at the Church of the Immaculate Conception.
According to John “Chip” Bancroft, the current chief of the Westhampton Beach Fire Department, Mr. Raynor’s casket was placed on an antique fire truck on Sunday and driven around the village prior to being brought to its final resting place at the Westhampton Cemetery. During the funeral procession, stops were made at the Sunset Avenue firehouse, Village Hall on Mill Road and, finally, at Mr. Raynor’s Bridal Avenue home.
Mr. Raynor is survived by his wife, Terry, their three sons, James, 29, and his wife, Caroline, Justin, 27, and Connor, 18, as well as two brothers, Christopher “Yogi” Raynor and Tommy Raynor.
He was predeceased by his parents, George and Pamela, and a brother, Matthew.
“Each member of an organization carries value,” Mr. Bancroft said. “Mark not only carried this value, but he, like his father, George—also a loved and respected member—carried part of our department’s heart and soul with him. We will truly miss him and I assure you he will not be forgotten.”
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made in Mr. Raynor’s memory to the Westhampton Beach Volunteer Fire Department, 92 Sunset Avenue, Westhampton Beach, NY, 11977.
on Sep 13, 2012