Raymond E. Shupp

We Remember... Raymond Raymond E. Shupp, 87, formerly of 1200 Muddy Creek Road, Denver, Lancaster County, died Tuesday morning in Garden View Skilled Nursing Center of Garden Spot Village, New Holland, Lancaster County, where he resided one day. He had resided at Mountain View Assisted Living of Garden Spot Village since September 20, 2001. Born in Brecknock Township, Lancaster County, he was a son of the late Henry K. and Anna M. (Taylor) Shupp. He was a member of St. John's Center United Church of Christ, East Earl, Lancaster County. Retiring in 1980, he was employed for over 35 years as a carpenter with the former Paul Weber Builder and James Weber Builder, both of Terre Hill, Lancaster County. Raymond also assisted with the family farm for most of his life. Many years ago he had worked at the former Royer's Bakery, Denver. He was an Army veteran of World War II having served in the Pacific Theater. Mr. Shupp was an avid woodworker, blacksmith, caned chairs, made brooms and enjoyed gardening, cooking and reading. Surviving is a sister, Edna M. Weber, also a resident at Garden Spot Village, New Holland; 3 brothers, Arthur E. Shupp, a resident of Denver Nursing Home, Stevens, PA; Harry L. Shupp, a resident of Fairmount Homes, Inc., Farmersville, PA; and Ralph K., married to Evelyn (Heisey) Shupp, a resident of Brethren Village, Neffsville, PA; and 4 nieces and 3 nephews. Viewing Funeral... Raymond's viewing will be held on Monday, May 20, 2002, from 7:00 to 9:00 PM from our funeral parlor. The funeral ceremony will take place on Tuesday, May 21, 2002, at 10:00 AM with his pastor, The Reverend Bradley J. Haws, officiating. The burial will follow in Center Union Cemetery, East Earl Township, Lancaster County, PA.The family asks that rather than flowers, contributions in Raymond's memory be sent to St. John's Center United Church of Christ Memorial Fund, 432 Reading Road, East Earl, PA 17519. A Biographical Sketch from records of Mountain View Assisted Living of Garden Spot Village:Raymond Eugene Shupp was born January 20, 1915, in Brecknock Township near Fivepointville, PA, to Henry And Anna Shupp. He was the youngest of eight children with six brothers - Paul, Arthur, Harry, John Walter, William Ralph, and 1 sister, Edna. Arthur is 101 years old and reside at the Denver Nursing Home, Harry resides at Fairmount Homes, Inc. and Ralph lives at Brethren Village, Lititz, while his sister, Edna Weber, lives also at Garden Spot Village. Raymond's parents were farmers and did truck farming and attended market in Reading, PA, where they sold their produce. When he was 2 years old the family home caught fire and burnt. They rebuilt on the same foundation. Raymond resided in that home his entire life. One of his earliest memories, age 4, was when his brother, Paul, went to war in 1918 to fight in France, returning 11 months later at the end of World War I. Raymond began school at the age of 4 at Red Run School, a one-room schoolhouse where he completed the eighth grade. He had several male teachers and female teachers over the years, the last one being a male who was strict, but very good. Raymond liked school and learning was easy for him. When he was 6 years old his chores on the farm consisted of hunting the eggs and getting the kindling for firewood. As he got older his chores included hunting for tobacco worms and hoeing tobacco. One of the things his brothers and he liked to do was pitch quoits. One day his father told them to pull weeds in the corn, which they did. However, they took the quoits with them and went to the middle of the field and cut one row down, just enough to pitch quoits. They had a lot of fun and their father never found out until he went to harvest the corn. When Raymond was 16 years old, he went to work at Bollman Hat Factory, Adamstown. He worked there one summer and continued after he finished his schooling. He worked in the tipper and hardener section, as well as the box factory for one year. He continued at Bollman for about 10 years. During that time, Raymond became interested in photography, which he pursued, taking many pictures and developing them himself. He also developed films for other people as well. In 1937, Raymond decided he needed to build up his strength and muscles, so he bought a set of weights and began weightlifting. Once again he was a success. He also enjoyed hunting pheasant and other small game, as well as deer. He often went deer hunting with his neighbor to Lycoming County. Upon leaving Bollman Hat Company he was offered a job at Royer's Bakery in Denver by the owner. He accepted and began in March, but left in November that year due to being drafted into the U.S. Army. He did his basic training at Camp Macon, GA, at which time he went to radio school. After completing his training, be went to Camp Shenango, Pittsburgh, which was the distribution center for the trainees. There he received orders to go to Camp Stockton, near San Francisco, CA, traveling by train. In California he received orders to go to the South Pacific. They left for San Diego by boat, sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge, newly constructed at that time. This was a very memorable even for Raymond. In San Diego he boarded a ship to take him to New Caledonia, about 400 miles off of Australia's coast. It was a Swedish ship that had been converted to a troop ship. It took them 23 days at sea, zigzagging across the Pacific Ocean to avoid torpedoes that may have been fired at them. They only had one escort the whole way. The men had to sleep 5 high, one on tope of each other, with only 18 inches between each bunk. As they headed to New Caledonia, they crossed the equator, at which time all men who were crossing for the first time received an initiation. They had to crawl through a makeshift tunnel around different obstacles, only to be sprayed in the face with a hose as they came out the other end. Upon arriving at their destination, Raymond was assigned to an artillery unit which handled 155 millimeter guns. There he continued with radio school and became a short wave radio operator, sending messages using Morse Code. His job was to relay the commander's orders by radio to others so they would know which direction to shoot. They eventually left New Caledonia working their way up through the islands past Guadalcanal to the Philippines, ending on the isle of Leyte. This was one of the first islands bombed by the US to regain the Philippines. He remembers seeing the coconut trees laying all over the beach, having been mowed down by artillery from the ships. Raymond's unit was one of the units that brought up the rear. One time another unit received the wrong orders and instead of firing the shells over their heads, they mistakenly fired on them, exploding close to Raymond and a couple of other men. Of course he radioed telling them they were firing in the wrong direction. His unit received orders that they were being sent to Japan, but before they left, the Atomic Bomb was dropped, ending the war. Therefore, they never had to go to Japan. Raymond had entered the Army in December 1942 and finally was discharged in January 1946. He had obtained the rank of Sergeant and had spent the entire 4 years without a furlough. Upon his arrival in Lancaster at the railroad station, two of his brothers were there to pick him up. They stopped for gas on the way home in Denver near the bakery where Raymond had worked. His old boss saw Raymond and immediately offered him his old job at the baker for $25 a week. He worked there until 1953, baking cookies, bread, rolls, buns and doughnuts. He eventually earned $53 a week. He worked both day and evening shifts. He left the bakery to go to work for his brother-in-law, Paul Weber, a builder in Terre hill, at his request. He worked in the construction business for over 35 years. They built houses and an occasional warehouse...and even a church. During these years he lived with his mother and brother, William, in the same home where he was born. His mother and William took care of the farm. His mother was a small woman but could work as good as any man, but she eventually began to slow down and needed nursing care which Raymond, his brother and sister provided. His mother died May 9, 1974, at age 100. Upon retiring from construction, he was a curious and determined man. This he believes he inherited from his maternal grandfather. Raymond enjoyed attending the Kutztown Fold Festival, observing the many different demonstrations at the fair. As a result, he began to do some woodworking, making small benches and chests. He also made brooms, caned chairs, gardened and managed a small orchard at the farm. His brother, William, became ill and Raymond cared for him until his death. Raymond began experiencing some health problems and realized it was becoming more and more difficult to keep up the farm. He broke his shoulder in August 2001 which made it impossible to continue. Since his sister already lived at Garden Spot Village, he decided to take up residency at Mountain View on September 20, 2001. Since arriving, he enjoys feeding the birds and even growing tomatoes in his room...continually welcoming visits from family and friends, as well as, making new friends.