Patrick James Raftery

Patrick James Raftery, 89, died Friday, December 9, 2011 in Huntersville, NC. Mr. Raftery lived in Belmar, Wall Township, NJ before recently moving to North Carolina. He was a long time parishioner of St. Elizabeth Catholic Church in nearby Avon-by-the Sea. Born in Newark NJ and raised in New York City, he was the son of the late John Raftery and Catherine (Regan) Raftery. Mr. Raftery retired as Regional Manager for the Hughes Aircraft Company in 1984. Following retirement he worked for Ray Catena Lexus in Eatontown NJ until once again retiring in 2010 at the age of 88. He was a lifetime member of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. On December 7th, 1941 he was the Signalman on duty on the bridge of the Battleship USS Pennsylvania, flagship of the US Pacific Fleet. Following Pearl Harbor he served as Signalman on armed merchant vessels in the Atlantic Theater Campaign and in 1944 was Chief Signalman for the Allied invasion of Southern France. Mr. Raftery was preceded in death by his wife of 53 years Mary Winifred (Corcoran) Raftery and by daughter Rosemary and son John Patrick. He is survived by his daughter Mary Louise Koehl and her husband Dexter of Huntersville, NC; three grandchildren - Amy Goduti and her husband Fred of Huntersville NC, Patrick Koehl and his wife Lisa of Chicago IL, and Mary Kate Sparrow and her husband Justin of Alexandria VA; and 14 great-grandchildren. A Memorial Mass will be held at St. Mark Catholic Church in Huntersville NC on December 28 at 1:00 PM. He will be interred beside his wife Mary in the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Arneytown NJ. Raymer-Kepner Funeral Home and Cremation Service is assisting the family. Friends may offer condolences to the family at www.raymerfh.com