The family requests that we share with you the news that Raymond H. Abbott Jr., 86, of Jackson, NH, passed away October 3, 2017, at Memorial Hospital. He was a fifth generation Jackson native and son of Raymond Abbott Sr. and Elizabeth Cotton Abbott. Ray will be missed by his family and many others in the community.
Services
The community is invited to his funeral service, which will be held at the Jackson Community Church on Friday morning, Oct 13th at 11am. This will be followed by a brief graveside service at the village’s cemetery with military honors and a reception at the Red Fox. Family, friends, and neighbors are invited to join Ray Abbott’s family for these observances.
Note: In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Gibson Center, which was a great help to Ray for the last several years of his life.
More About Ray
Ray Abbott is survived by his son Marshall and his wife Angela, his daughter Gatia McChesney and husband Michael, three granddaughters and his ex-wife and friend Pamela Abbott.
After high school, Ray joined the Air Force and served as a B29 pilot in Korea. After the service, he returned to Jackson where he became very involved in local and state businesses and politics. He owned and operated Abbotts’ Variety Store, Abbott’s Ski Lodge and also worked the farm at the family homestead.
Later he helped build Wildcat Ski Area and was the Operations Manager for 21 years. Following his time at Wildcat, he purchased and operated Conway Tractor and Equipment Corp. in Redstone for 23 years. During these years, Ray was heavily involved in state and local politics including Jackson Selectman for 10 years, Jackson Moderator for 32 years, County Commissioner for 10 years and New Hampshire Aeronautics Commissioner for 10 years. He worked on numerous presidential, congressional and gubernatorial campaigns.He also found time to enjoy vacations with his family and operate his own airplane flying out of the North Conway Airport.