Cordoza, Raymond “Ray” Edward

Raymond Edward Cordoza, son of the late Delfine Virginia Guadalupe Costa and Kenneth Frank Cordoza, passed away at home on Saturday evening, March 25th, surrounded by his family and devoted caretaker.

Ray was born in San Francisco, on July 2nd, 1941, and spent most of his life in the Bay Area; before retiring to the Gold Country with his wife ElizabethAnn (Betty), in June 2006.

Ray left Sequoia High School in 1957 arid enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he completed his G.E.D. while serving aboard the L.S.T. DeKalb County and the USS Helena. In May 1965, Ray completed his commitment to the Navy and Naval Reserve and remained a proud Navy Veteran for the rest of his life.

In 1960, Ray joined the Triumph Travelers Sports Car Club where he met his first wife, Sandra Goff. Although their marriage didn’t last Sandy’s and Ray’s daughter Michele Renee, was born in 1967.

Following his Navy service, Ray went to work as a Parts department Salesperson. He later went to work in the same capacity at Normandin Chrysler, in San Jose. Except for a few years as Parts Department Manager at El Camino Dodge in Sunnyvale Ray would work at Normandin’s until he retired. Ray Worked for the third, fourth and fifth generations of the family-owned dealership.

In the summer of 1979, Ray met Betty Bardsley, newly relocated from Boston, Massachusetts; and they were married on the Summer Solstice, 1980, at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, in Sunnyvale, California. Following a brief honeymoon in San Francisco, the couple returned to their home in Sunnyvale.

April first, 1980, Ray returned to Normandin’s as Parts Department Manager, until he retired on May first, 2006. During that time Chrysler Corporation created the Mopar Master’s Program for top Chrysler Parts Department Managers in the United States, and Ray qualified every year until he retired. It provided Ray and Betty the chance to do much traveling throughout the United States, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

In 1997, Ray and Betty had a house constructed on land that Ray owned outside the city limits of Sonora. They moved there full-time in June 2006. Ray enjoyed golfing and they became ·reguiars at the Twain Harte Golf Club, and the Sportsman Coffee Shop. They became supporters of the Twain Harte Rotary Club’s contributions to the community, attending community Holiday Dinners and participating in the Annual Outhouse Races.

Ray’s grandson, Conner Sulewski, and his husband, Garrett Wells moved in with Ray and Betty in the summer of 2O19, and proved to be of great assistance when Covid-19 became a serious health risk. In Autumn of 2019, Ray began developing some non-Covid related health issues. Following the case of Covid, in June 2020, and a broken hip in October 2022, Ray’s health continued to decline, and he was in Hospice care, at home, for the last few days of his life.

As per Ray’s wishes, his Cremains will be buried at sea off the coast of San Diego, following a Ceremony aboard ship, at a time and place to be determined by the United States Navy. Ray is survived by his loving wife of nearly 43 years, Betty; his daughter, Michele Renee, and his grandsons, Conner, and Garrett, all of Sonora, Ca. He is also survived by his brothers, Kenneth, and sister-in-law Maureen, of Whitefish, Montana, and Stephen of Boulder Creek, California. Ray is also survived by his Grandsons, David Ray Seabolt, and family of Pleasant Grove, Utah, Cameron
Sulewski of Reno, Nevada, and Granddaughter, Alycia Barnwell and her family of Janesville, California. Ray is also survived by numerous nephews, and a niece, Lian Michel of Frankfort, Germany.

A Celebration of Ray’s Life will be held at Twain Harte Golf Course, 22909 Meadow Drive, Twain Harte, California, from two o’clock until four o’clock in the afternoon of Saturday, June twenty-fourth, 2023. Those who have known Ray during his long life and ·wish to celebrate that life are invited.