SSG Raymond Bernardo Lancia (US Army, Retired), 62, died peacefully at home Saturday, August 8, 2015, from complications due to cancer. Unconfirmed reports contributed at least a portion of his ailment to a lightning strike years ago that gave him an extraordinary ability to light up a room and chase away demons, crooks, frowns, bad attitudes, spiders, and Georgia gnats. Born in Rhode Island in 1952, Ray loved the Green Bay Packers, the New York Yankees, the Los Angeles Lakers, Notre Dame football, and North Carolina basketball.
Ray spent 20 years as a Military Intelligence Analyst in the U.S. Army. Regardless of the oxymoron in his job title, he made it clear when asked he could tell you more…but he’d have to kill you. After retiring, he spent a couple of years as a manager at Wal-Mart, but left when his addiction to stuffed animals that sing and dance left him humming off-key Christmas carols at all hours of the day. He jumped at the opportunity to resume working with Soldiers and spent a decade saving the environment and teaching Fort Stewart (Ga.) Soldiers how to properly deal with hazardous materials. His teammates in that job could never confirm his participation in office pranks involving a fart machine, but anyone subjected to one of his jokes knows he was probably in the thick of the action. By day, Ray was your everyday retired Army man but after hours was when he donned his cape and went about the business of saving the world. He fostered troubled children, counseled troubled marriages, preached at the Reidsville GSP facility, and generally leapt over tall buildings in a single bound. He loved his wife, Kathleen, with all his heart, and was known to elicit a groan from his many children (three biological and too many adopted to count) and 10 grandchildren due to unabashed public displays of affection and bad dad jokes.
Those whose lives he touched recall a selfless man of passion, integrity, honor, and determination who was quick with a quip and even faster with a disarming smile. Those who ran across him on a basketball court recall a man who showed that while white men may not be able to jump, they sure can box out and rain left-handed baby hook shots from 20 feet all day. Those who ran across him at Dunkin’ Donuts recall a man who’d give you the shirt off his back, a cup of coffee, but not his Boston Cream donut. Wherever you encountered Ray, one thing was for sure: You’d walk away with a smile and a much better outlook on your day, and usually a starlight mint from his pocket.
Ray is survived by his devoted wife of 42 years, Kathleen; his children Christopher Lancia (wife Sarah, daughter Devon, and son Vincent), Mary Gilbert (husband William, daughter Katherine, son Connor, daughter Elizabeth, son Alexander, and daughters Rylee and Mariah), and Ruth Candler (husband Andrew, daughter Isabel, and son Caleb); and his brothers Robert Lancia and Frank Lancia.
A viewing will be held at Carter Funeral Home from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, August 12, 2015. Funeral services will be at First Baptist Church Hinesville at 1 p.m. on Thursday, August 13, 2015 with Rev. Alan Darsey officiating. Burial with Full Military Honors will follow in Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Glennville at 3pm. US Army Honor Guard will serve as pallbearers. Honorary escorts will be The Patriot Guard Riders.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the National Hydrocephalus Foundation (nhfonline.org), 12413 Centralia Rd., Lakewood, CA 90715-1653. Carter Funeral Home Oglethorpe Chapel is in charge of the arrangements. Online condolences may be made at www.carteroglethorpe.com
