Our friend Ray Kowalski passed away on Thursday, April 23. Ray was born and grew up on Long Island and attended Long Island University at C.W. Post and majored in business. He headed off to Utah to be a ski instructor and came back to Cooperstown, New York, to be a bellhop at the famous Otesaga Hotel. It was there that he would engage with some of baseball’s greatest players like Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford during Hall of Fame festivities. Oh, the stories Ray could tell about those days! His love of skiing and instructing eventually brought him to Vermont where he settled in the Mad River Valley.
Ray bounced around The Valley working at Paradise and the Den before coming to The Warren Store. Ray worked at the store for almost 24 years.
Ray’s unique personality and Far Side sense of humor quickly made him a fixture for customers at the store. Customers enjoyed Ray and would try to get him to smile or open up and Ray, who was nobody’s fool, knew perfectly well how to play that cat-and-mouse game. There was a big heart underneath that crusty exterior.
He enjoyed out-of-state customers and had fun with them. One of his favorite stories was when a tourist approached him and asked, “Where do all these dirt roads go to?”
Ray was as dependable as anyone that worked at the store. Nothing would keep him from opening the store or keeping his appointments. He was a stickler for precision and practicality. He was the self-proclaimed king of the coffee station. Everyone appreciated when Ray worked the mornings knowing that the coffee would be ready. His experience at business school came in handy – his approach to his job was always conscientious and correct.
Ray was the master of his domain at Register No. 4. We put up a sign “10 words or less register” in honor of his schtick and he lived up to that. Over the years, however, that 10-word limit relaxed a lot with Ray.
Ray loved animals and would have a complimentary treat available to any dog that was waiting outside. Ray also kept tabs on all of our local food shelf donations.
The Warren Store has always had a history of colorful characters who have worked here – Ray stands as one of the most memorable. We loved Ray and so did our customers. It took a while, but that was part of his game!
There’s an Irish saying: “Take a good look at me now because you’ll never see the likes of someone like me again.” Amen to that.
