Raymond 'Doc' Dyer, 96, Bristol

Posted 8/24/16

Colonel Raymond “Doc” Dyer, US Army retired, lived 96 remarkable years until he passed away Monday evening with family by his side.

He grew up in Warren during the Great Depression and …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Register to post events


If you'd like to post an event to our calendar, you can create a free account by clicking here.

Note that free accounts do not have access to our subscriber-only content.

Day pass subscribers

Are you a day pass subscriber who needs to log in? Click here to continue.


Raymond 'Doc' Dyer, 96, Bristol

Posted

Colonel Raymond “Doc” Dyer, US Army retired, lived 96 remarkable years until he passed away Monday evening with family by his side.

He grew up in Warren during the Great Depression and was always careful not to waste anything. Like so many others of his day, he joined the US Navy in WWII and fought in the Pacific, including the occupation of Japan, igniting a passion for world travel that would later shape his life.

After the war, he attended Georgetown University Dental School on the GI bill where he met and married the late Virginia (Tiernan) Dyer. They settled in Bristol to raise four children - Elizabeth Rose Hedden (Mark), Patricia Dyer Saimond (Mike), Judith Marie Dyer, and Michael Francis Dyer, US Army retired, (Nancy).  

Love of family drew him to visit his children around the world and even led him to accompany President and Mrs. Reagan to see his son in Japan in 1989. He practiced dentistry in Bristol for almost 40 years, while serving in the Army Reserves until retiring as a Colonel in 1979. 

At 70 and always up for new experiences, Ray joined his daughters in the classroom, launching his second career as an educator. He transformed classrooms all over RI, Massachusetts and Connecticut, and in far off places like Morocco, Chile, Siberia and the Amazon. He devoted countless hours to perfecting interactive lessons with artifacts from around the world so that children could not only see pictures of other cultures, but experience some of their most unique aspects. His exploits led him on countless adventures including riding camels in Egypt, swimming in the Dead Sea, and catching piranhas in the Amazon.

A lifelong learner, he read the New York Times daily and intelligently discussed world events up until the end of his life. He was a steadfast proponent of exercise for himself and also encouraged his children and seven grandchildren to do the same. He started running marathons at the age of 58, competed in triathlons in his 70s and swam a half mile in Narragansett Bay into his late 80s. His favorite place in the world was Colt State Park, where he ran and more recently walked with other park visitors.  

In addition to his four children, he also leaves his seven grandchildren, Samantha Hedden, Rebecca Sutphen (Robert), Jeffrey Hedden (Shuwen), Cassandra Saimond, Timothy Saimond, Curtis Dyer and Emily Almonte. He was also preceded in death by a brother, John Dyer.

Funeral services from the Sansone Funeral Home, 192 Wood St., Bristol, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016 at 10 a.m., with a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. in St. Mary’s Church, 330 Wood St., Bristol. Burial with Military Honors will follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Chestnut Street, Bristol. Visiting hours, Friday, Aug. 26, 4-7 p.m.  

In lieu of flowers, Ray would prefer donations for a new bench at Colt State Park in order to encourage a healthy lifestyle. Donations to the “Doc Dyer Bench Fund,” 7 Westwood Road, Bristol, RI 02809, would be deeply appreciated.

For online condolences, shared memories, information and directions go to www.sansonefuneralhome.com.

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.