Memorial Service for Ray Price, longtime Comunidad Member and St. Matthew Parish Nurse
Saturday, March 8th, 10:00 a.m., St. Matthew Catholic Church, 672 Temple Ave., Long Beach
As many of you heard, Ray Price died unexpectedly on Sunday, January 5th. A memorial service that will celebrate his life, friendships, and the good work that he brought to the many people he served as a military officer, nurse, and fellow parish member will be celebrated this Saturday morning, March 8th, 10:00 am, at St. Matthew’s. If you know of persons who knew Ray but may not know of the memorial service that will take place, we ask that you please spread the word. Ray’s funeral Mass took place in early February in Harrison City, Pennsylvania, where his family resides. Below is Ray’s obituary, which explains where contributions made in his honor can be sent:
Raymond S. Price, ASN, RN, CMSRN, 51, of Long Beach, Calif., formerly of Penn Hills, passed away Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014. He was the beloved son of the late Lester Dye and Martha (Schaltenbrand) Price; loving brother to Leslie (Ralph) Guzzo, Barbara Price, Michael Price and his twin, Hollie (John) Hooper; also survived by 13 nieces and nephews; 14 great-nieces and great-nephews; best friend, John Guarino, of Long Beach; and many cousins and friends. Ray was a veteran of both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army. His ranks at discharge were petty officer third class and first lieutenant, respectively. Ray spent 30 years of his life in the nursing field, caring for others. He was skilled in many areas of nursing, including spinal cord injury, hospice, ER, psychiatric, teaching, med/surg, and case management, most recently at the VA Long Beach Medical Center, where he also participated in helping to develop their nursing-shared governance model, and helped to improve their SCI Non-VA Care Program. Ray was a founding member of the Parish Nurse Program, and of Comunidad, at St. Matthew Catholic Church in Long Beach. He participated in several AIDS Rides, from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and from Boston to New York. He also traveled to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, as a volunteer nurse. A Mass in celebration of Ray's life will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014, St. Barbara's Catholic Church, 111 Raymaley Road, Harrison City, PA 15636. Contributions may be made in memory of Ray, to the CARE Program, 45 Atlantic Ave., Suite 1016, Long Beach, CA 90813; or to the Wounded Warrior Project, P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675. Ray will be sadly missed by his family and friends.
