PATRICK
RAIMOND
UNITED STATES ARMY
YAPHANK
Patrick Raimond was born on July 4, 1918,
at Medford, New York, the fourth child of immigrant
parents, Catherine and Charles Raimond. His father, a
Russian peasant, did not read or write, although he spoke
seven languages; hence the surname which obviously was
not the original family identifier.
When Pat was a year old, the family moved
to a house on the Upper Lake in Yaphank on the future
site of the Lakeview Inn. He attended the octagon shaped,
one room school on Main Street through four grades, and
finished at the new Yaphank Elementary School. After
graduation, he attended Patchogue High School where, at
that time, most of the students from outlying rural areas
continued their education. Through his junior year, Pat
did not participate in many school activities, as he had
to work and assist at home. In his senior year, he earned
letters in football, baseball and wresting and was named
top athlete of 1936. That year he won the Suffolk County
wrestling championship in his weight class.
Following high school, because of
circumstances during the Great Depression, he was unable
to go to college, but he worked at a number of jobs until
1940. That was the year the "Draft" took effect
in our country, and Pat was one of the early draftees. On
March 18th, 1941 he left the Patchogue Railroad Station
on his way to the induction center at Jamaica, New York.
On his arrival, he was sworn into the U.S. Army, and the
next day he was sent to Camp Upton, Yaphank! From there,
a few days later, he was shipped to Camp Lee, Virginia.
He was trained at the 223rd General Hospital and remained
in Virginia for two years, during which time the U.S.
entered the war and the one year draft turned into four
years plus.
During that time, the 45th General
Hospital was organized with a cadre of doctors from the
Medical College of Richmond, Virginia, and Pat was
transferred into that group. In March, 1943 they shipped
out of Fort Dix, New Jersey to French Morocco in North
Africa. They set up a hospital in Rabat at the College of
Oranges, and a year later moved to Bagnoli, near Naples,
Italy. During those years, Pat advanced steadily until he
was a Tech Sergeant in charge of transportation for the
hospital.
When the war ended in Europe, discharges
were given according to the points a soldier had
accumulated. Points were based on how long the soldier
had served, if he was married and how many children he
had. Since Pat had married his fiancé, Patricia Neger,
on November 11th, 1941 and they had their first child the
following year, Pat had accumulated enough points for an
early release. He was offered a commission if he would
sign on for another year. He decided against it and
returned home on June 26th, 1945 in order to be with his
family. Pat was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for
meritorious achievement in connection with military
operations in North Africa and Italy from March 29, 1943
to May 8, 1945. The citation stated "Technical
Sergeant Raimond's outstanding organizational ability,
knowledge of vehicles and devotion to duty resulted in
the vehicles under his care being maintained in such
excellent condition that no vehicle had to be salvaged
during the entire period."
Upon returning to civilian life, Pat
applied to the Brookhaven Town Police Department and
immediately received employment, working out of the Port
Jefferson Precinct. After a year, he applied to the
Brookhaven National Laboratory which had been established
at the site of Camp Upton, and he was taken on as a fire
fighter and in security. In his spare time, he built a
small home on two acres given to him by his in-laws which
was located on the west side of Middle Island Road, one
half mile north of Main Street.
He managed to study for the New York
State Real Estate Broker's exam and received his license
in 1949. This was the culmination of a dream he had since
1938. At that time he was found fishing through the ice
on Lake Panamoka by the manager of the development
company which had purchased the area. The man asked him
if he could use his picture on their advertising
brochure, and Pat consented with the provision that they
would sponsor him in obtaining a Real Estate Salesman's
License. With the war intervening, he was unable to do
much about selling real estate, but the time now seemed
right to do something about that dream.
Pat continued working at Brookhaven
National Lab on the night shift, while studying for his
General Insurance Agents license to go with the Real
Estate License he had achieved. In those early days, his
"office" was a desk in the living room and his
"secretary" was his wife. By 1952 he was no
longer able to get any sleep during the day, so he took
the plunge, resigned after six years at BNL and went into
business full time as the "Pat Raimond Agency".
They sold houses to many people who became life long
friends, and later in his career, Pat did appraisals for
the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County and individuals.
One of his proudest achievements in the
Real Estate business, was salvaging the property which
becameYaphank Estates. Heyward and Harriet Shannon lived
in the large two story house which is now known as the
Hawkins-Dooley House. They owned a sizable tract of land
on both sides of Yaphank-Middle Island Road. Through the
years, as they needed money, the Shannons sold off small
parcels along the road front, which ran back to the lake.
With the help of another broker, they had a road
constructed at the Northwest end of the acreage, which
was named "Shannon Boulevard", and building
lots were sold on both sides of the road. They continued
to sell lots fronting on the east side of Middle Island
Road until they were left with a large parcel of land and
about forty feet of road frontage! It was at that time
that Mr. Shannon, who knew Pat since he delivered the
newspaper as a young boy, asked for his help.
The first obstacle of needing an
additional ten feet of property to develop an access road
was overcome when Pat and his wife bought the lot back
from the man who owned it. There were many months of
working with people who would wait for their money until
the property could be sold, but finally "Raimond
Street" and Yaphank Estates were opened. Over the
years, many lovely homes were erected, and many of the
original purchasers still live there. In 1964, the lot
the Raimonds purchased at the northeast corner of Raimond
Street and Middle Island Road became the combined home
and office of the Pat Raimond Agency. The Raimonds
operated their agency in Yaphank for 25 years, and in
December of 1974 retired to Port Richey, Florida where
they still reside.
Unlike many retirees, the Raimonds are
fortunate to have their family living nearby. Their first
daughter, Kathleen Raimond Wolf, graduated from Port
Jefferson High School, NYSU at New Paltz, and is an
elected member of the Pasco County School Board. Joyce
Raimond Rios-Wagner graduated from Longwood High School,
and the Pasco-Hernando Community College, is a Registered
Nurse and a licensed Charter Boat Captain. Valerie
Raimond Faulkner is a graduate of Longwood High School
and works with her husband and son in Faulkner Electric,
Inc. The Raimonds have eight grandchildren and twelve
great grandchildren.
Written by,
Mrs. Pat Raimond
December, 2000