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Memorial Keepers (1)
Beck's Tribute Center
Raymond "Ray" Gerald Sayah, Sr.
January 23rd, 1934 - January 20th, 2025
Here’s to Raymond Gerald Sayah, who didn’t go to college, wasn’t born wealthy, and never took a sick day!
Born: January 23, 1934 Died: January 20, 2025.
Our beloved Raymond (Ray) Gerald Sayah Sr. passed away this week. His parents came from a small village in Lebanon. This place was called Kfarshima, just south of Beirut. They left in the last Ottoman diaspora, traveling by boat and arriving through Ellis Island. The records in NYC bear their names.
The first to arrive was Ray’s great-uncle Khalil, known as Kelly. He eventually established a store on 1st Avenue in Seattle called Sayah Brothers (see pic). This store sold “furnishings” for Ladies and Gents, which included clothing and many other items. It was located just outside Pike Place Market. Ray’s father George Sayah was a teen when he arrived after the turn of the century. When he arrived, he quickly took a job as a dry goods salesman, taking household items in a blanket to far-off communities by rail. He traveled to exotic and remote rail stops such as Ballard, Renton, and Shoreline! He would find a row of homes, usually with husbands away in the forests logging or in the sound fishing while wives stayed at home with children. George learned useful words in many languages so that he could communicate about his products and prices.
Later, George married Lucy, who came from Lebanon with her family at the age of 3. They purchased a modest home at 2009 2nd Ave North on Queen Anne and it remained the family home until Lucy’s death in 1991. George and Lucy had 4 children, James, Elizabeth, Ray, and Janet. Ray was born in 1934, as the Great Depression caused economic havoc worldwide. Later, George purchased a panel van and became a fishmonger. He would purchase fish at Fisherman’s Terminal each day. He established Sunset Fish Market in Ballard and operated the store with his wife for many years.
Ray and his siblings attended John Hay Elementary on Boston Avenue in Queen Anne. At the time, the Japanese internment was happening and children of immigrants felt pressure at home and in school to assimilate in every way, especially language and culture. As a consequence, only rudimentary Arabic language skills were passed on in the home. Lucy became a Cub Scout Den Mother and Ray attended Camp Meany, which was the Cub Scout portion of Camp Parsons on Hood Canal.
A quick note about John Hay. He was private secretary to Abraham Lincoln. Ray used to recite “O Captain, My Captain” which is a Whitman poem about Lincoln’s assassination.
Ray later attended Queen Anne High School. He was a baseball player and played first base. He was known as “mumbles” while his teammates were known as fumbles, stumbles, and grumbles. The mascot was the Grizzly. In those days, students were educated according to their relative aptitude. Ray was deemed a D student and had great times in wood shop, metal shop, and learning about mechanics. Much later, he realized that he had a head for math and numbers but was never given a chance to excel at math while in school.
Dad told the story of a town called Lester in the Cascades. Lester was a train refueling depot. It is now a ghost town after being abandoned by the railroad. Back then, Ray was the only one in the circle of friends with a car, a humble Chevrolet he had purchased with his paper route earnings. Friends all brought a quarter or two (two bits!) and they filled the tank with gasoline for the trip. After arriving at Lester, they bedded down for the night and woke up early to eat breakfast and hike up the hill to a nearby lake for fishing. When my dad and his friends sat down to stacks of thick pancakes, an “old-timer” commented, “Don’t put away too many of those horse blankets, you’ll never make it up the hill!”
Dad was born and raised during the depression. For him, credit was bad, savings were good. Smart people owned real estate, worked hard, and didn’t call in sick! Dad made two trips to Lebanon in the 1970’s, staying with his cousin George Sayah (really popular name!). George came to Seattle and was a big fan of disco dancing and American Culture. He returned to Lebanon and was a Jeweler, where he married and raised children Samer and Sally. He last visited Lebanon in 2005.
Ray Senior was known as a “shy guy” and finally attended a Dale Carnegie seminar to learn confidence and how to talk to people. This contributed to his success in business, where he eventually became the Vice-President of his company.
After a stint at a service station doing oil changes, and some time at Boeing’s Renton Plant as a riveter, he was a warehouseman with ILWU Local 117 in Seattle. Dad worked at the same company for around 40 years, Bryant's Marina and later the Bryant Corporation. He distributed Evinrude Motors and OMC parts, along with Ski-Doo and Sea-Doo. (Snowmobiles and Jet-skis). He retired in the mid 1990’s when Evinrude took over its own distribution.
Dad was married to Nawal Faddoul in 1978, who had arrived from Lebanon not long before and was staying with her sister. They first settled in Mountlake Terrace. Dad owned a blue Datsun B210 stick shift at the time. What a cool car!
Later, they moved to Kenmore. The house was purchased in 1984. The mortgage rate was 14 percent. Dad had that house paid off before 1990! Ray Jr. was born in 1979, Paul in 1982 and Peter in 1985.
When he was 29, he had heart surgery to fix a worsening problem. This was done at Swedish Hospital. A call went out to the Teamsters and there is a picture somewhere of brothers lined up around the block to donate blood in his name. He always remembered his roots in the Labor Movement as a union man.
Ray owned a few rental homes and would maintain his own properties, he and his sons took dump runs in his 1972 blue Chevy C20 truck. Dad and son would head to one of his vacant lots to cut firewood. We were so impressed to watch him fell trees. Dad took care of his own basic mechanical work, like brake changes and oil changes. He was a man’s man. He could do anything. He loved sports. His sons fondly remember attending Seahawks games in the Kingdome with him in the 1980's, most of them ending in a loss for the Hawks. He loved going to watch his sons play baseball, soccer, and basketball.
Ray was a really great dad. He had high expectations and a short fuse at times. One had to tread carefully after his day at work! He taught his sons to read on his knee. We loved attending the Seattle Boat Show with him every year as he manned his company’s booth.
He wasn’t big on hugs or shows of affection. There were no grand gestures. Our vacations were humble, like camping trips to state parks in our state. Our lives were comfortable, secure, and safe. This was provided by a provider, protector, and mentor who was exceptionally humble and hardworking. It’s the sort of personality that doesn’t attract much praise or attention in the moment. However, it is the OLD SCHOOL way to raise a family. He provided the foundation that we used to build our families and successful lives. He is our humble hero.
After retirement, dad really didn’t have much to do. He didn’t have many hobbies other than watching sports, his walks, and reading the Seattle Times. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s like his father and slowly declined in his 80’s.
We enjoyed our visits with dad at Comfort Care Adult Family Home. The staff called him a "foodie" and enjoyed cooking for him each day. We enjoyed bringing him sweet treats when we visited.
We are grateful to our many friends from South Snohomish County Fire who responded to the home and transported him to Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland. On his final trip to the hospital he received incredible and personal care from doctors, nurses, and ER Technicians, all true professionals. We are eternally grateful for your kindness!
During his final days in the hospital, he listened to Sinatra and received many visits from family and friends. On January 20th, he received blessings and last rites. He passed away at 8:31 PM with family at his side.
Ray is survived by baby sister Janet, Nawal, his love of 46 years, sons Ray Jr (Renee), Paul & Peter (Breanne). Grandchildren Giselle, Olivia, Harper, Isla, Rosie, Hunter & Frankie. He was preceded in death by brother James & sister Elizabeth. Please contribute in his name to Parkinson’s Foundation. A memorial service will be held at Beck’s Tribute Center in Edmonds on Feb 7 at noon.
Here’s to Raymond Gerald Sayah, who didn’t go to college, wasn’t born wealthy, and never took a sick day!
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