Linda Armstrong
Independence
To the editor:
Ray Van Jones was one of the good guys.
I worked with Ray at The Examiner for five years. He was fun-loving, dedicated to his work and family, and he was a tough act for anyone to follow. (Ray Van Jones, a former Examiner advertising representative, died June 26.)
Ray could often be seen on the Independence Square, calling on merchants, checking on their ads for the week or selling them subscriptions to the paper.
Sometimes he would stop by my desk and tell me to go check out his display at the Sentimental Journey antique shop. Other times he would talk about the vacation he just returned from or about his mother’s birthday party. Once or twice, he told me his paper carrier threw the paper up on the roof again and there was no way he was going up there to get it.
Ray loved playing Santa at our Examiner Christmas parties. There are some employees, former employees, their children and grandchildren out there who are holding on to treasured photos taken with Ray as Santa.
He would get the employees involved in his Kiwanis fundraising efforts during the holidays. We would see Ray hauling boxes of apples, which employees ordered, on a dolly!
I had the honor to appear with John Beaudoin and Ray in a commercial for The Examiner. We were advertising car buying through The Examiner online. Ray was the “sporty” guy looking for a “sporty” car. We had a lot of fun shooting that commercial.
Ray was a class act, and he will be missed!
