Rae, James

James “Jay” Rae, 73, died September 25, 2020, from complications related to Alzheimer’s disease. After a long battle with the disease, Jay died peacefully in his sleep at The Brennity at Tradition in Port St. Lucie, FL.

He leaves his wife, Sandra (Vasold) Rae, sister Stephanie Church, daughter Jennifer Burns, sons James (Beth) Rae, Jr., Charles (Michelle) Rae and Michael (Katie) Rae; grandchildren Bailey, Matthew, Claire, Georgia, Michael, Isla and Jacob; niece Amanda Church and nephew Andrew (Erin) Church; sisters-in-law Linda (Jerry) Walker and Rachel (Craig) Anderson, and brother-in-law Herbert (Sheila) Vasold.

Born in Boston, Jay graduated from Milton High School, earned his associate’s degree in business administration from Newbury Junior College, his associate’s degree in fire science from Massasoit Community College, and his bachelor’s degree in fire science from Boston State College.

Jay proudly served in the U.S. Army, earning a National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal (815th Engineer Battalion), Driver Badge and Good Conduct Medal. He then worked 31 years for the Milton Fire Department, retiring as lieutenant in June of 2002. Jay volunteered with Canton Youth Baseball in which he coached all three of his sons. He also coached Canton Youth Baseball travel teams and was an instructor at the Ted Williams Baseball Camp for numerous years. Jay was affiliated with the American Legion (Morrisette Post) and the Disabled American Veterans organization.

In the years that followed his retirement he lived on the island of St. Maarten, where he enjoyed many outdoor activities, including playing team golf with the East Caribbean Golf Association at surrounding Caribbean islands. In 2007 Jay and his wife relocated to Port St. Lucie, FL, where he not only enjoyed golf, swimming and biking but picked up his long-lost love — softball. Jay played for local teams in Port St. Lucie, the Jupiter Senior Softball Association, Florida Half Century, Senior Softball USA and the Cape Cod Senior Softball League. His teams traveled to all parts of Florida and the United States where he and his teammates won numerous medals and awards.

Visiting hours at the Dockray and Thomas Funeral Home, 455 Washington Street, on Thursday (today) from 4-7 p.m. Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, only 25 guests are allowed in the funeral home at a time. Masks are required, and guests should bring their own pens to sign the register book. Interment at Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne Friday, October 2, at 10:30 a.m. A celebration of life will be held at a later date in Port St. Lucie, FL. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: Treasure Coast Hospice at treasurehealth.org/292/donate or to the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org. For complete obituary and guestbook, see dockrayandthomasfuneralhome.com.

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Posted by Canton Citizen on Oct 1 2020. Filed under Obituaries. Both comments and pings are currently closed.