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Elora's Raymond Douglas Trafford was the life of the party.
Underneath his vivacious personality, he had love for his family, helping others and as a Centre Wellington candidate for Ward 3 in the municipal election last fall, he was committed to serving his community, say those who were close to him.
On Jan. 26, Trafford passed away at the age of 68.
“Ray was always full of life. People just gravitated toward him,” said his brother, Ron Trafford.
Both avid golfers, the brothers would often take trips to Myrtle Beach, SC.
“For his birthday one year, we went down there, and after golf he would be right in that hot tub. Ray was always the centre of the attention. He had so many stories,” Ron said.
“He had a great sense of humour. He will be missed. I’ve received so many condolences from so many friends.”
After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Trafford was expected to survive for only weeks. His family says, he left the world just a few days later.
“Ray had prostate cancer for about 15 years. He had surgery and chemotherapy. After leaving the hospital, he was still always on the go, always doing something. That was Ray,” Ron said.
When the cancer returned recently, Ron says it was very sudden.
“I saw Ray at Christmastime. He was told that he had only about six to eight weeks to live. There was a new therapy that could extend his life to about six to eight months,” Ron said.
“He was really hoping to have this treatment so that he could do more and more with his friends and family. But unfortunately, he never left the hospital.”
The brothers grew up in Hamilton.
“Raymond was 11 years older than me. Growing up, I remember him meeting his first wife when he was just 17. I was only six years old. I don’t remember a lot growing up with Ray, but I do have some great memories,” Ron said.
“We saw the tall ships in Port Dover. I remember times when I was a teenager and we went to Kilbear Provincial Park. Ray also taught me how to sail.”
Trafford attended McMaster University in the post-graduate studies program in clinical behavioural sciences. His focus was at Chedoke-McMaster Hospitals working with adolescents and their families.
“He also helped foster kids and operated a group home,” Ron said.
“He did have some setbacks. He had a group home in Hamilton, and the kids were all treated like his own. He gave these kids everything he could. Then he managed a bunch of group homes up north and then eventually, in Dundas."
Trafford turned a used church property into a group home.
“Unfortunately, there was a huge fire one day and he lost his first wife of 25 years,” Ron said.
Having to recover from that, Trafford moved to Elora and met his second wife, Beth. The couple were married for 20 years.
After his first cancer diagnosis, Trafford underwent surgery and chemotherapy. He then pondered his next career move. Surprising many who knew him, he decided to become a long-haul truck driver, proving Trafford was anything but ‘boring and predictable.'
Ray was the father of three: Joelle, Jeff and Ben and stepfather to Jordan. He will be missed by his grandchildren Christian, Aaron, Blair, Sage, Callan and River, his siblings Anne, Corinne and Ronald, as well as his many nieces, nephews and friends.
Ron says he was not surprised to see his brother run for council in the last municipal election in the fall.
“He’s a big life character. He commands rather than demands attention. I thought for sure, that he was going to win. He seemed like the perfect person for the job. Ray loves politics at all levels, and has for years,” Ron said.
However, Raymond didn't win a seat on council.
“I remember driving down to Myrtle Beech one year. We just just listened to CNN the whole way. It’s all he wanted to hear. He refused to turn it off. It made for a long 15-hour drive.”
Ron says his brother was very personable, a characteristic ideal for a role on council.
“He was very much in touch and listened to what people had to say which was a great thing for someone running in an election. I thought all the power to him. He would have been great,” Ron said.
Ray’s close friend, William Tibbles from Fergus, helped with Trafford’s campaign.
“A group of friends all helped put the campaign together. I did the graphics, another did the writing and someone else did the photography,” Tibbles said.
Tibbles says a golf tournament will be held in honour of Trafford this summer.
“A group of us golfed and played cards. Ray was quite the joker and such a good friend. Every Wednesday when we play cards, we really miss him,” Tibbles said.
“He would always come up with something new. A song would play on the radio, and he would immediately change all of the words. He was quite the guy.”
Friends say that out of love for the Fergus/Elora community, Trafford decided to run for Ward 3 councillor last fall. He thoroughly enjoyed speaking and sharing viewpoints with so many individuals and community groups.
Penny Pollock was Trafford’s campaign manager and says Trafford was always empathetic with other people's problems.
“What he did as a career earlier in life, came through in his personal life afterwards,” Pollock said.
“He also had a dry sense of humour. He was a very funny guy. He liked watching the news in the morning and said that is one thing he will really miss, is watching the news every morning.”
Friends say Trafford was an interested listener and interesting talker. They enjoyed his sense of humour, optimism, and taste in all things, especially food.
“He would have been fantastic on council. He wanted members to respect each other, cooperate, and put the community’s needs first,” Pollock said.
“That’s why he ran. He really did care for his community.”
