Raymond John Gonda, 89, of Columbia, passed away peacefully early Tuesday, February 17, 2015 at Providence Hospital in Columbia. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 1, 1925, Raymond was the seventh of nine children of Slovak immigrants, Andrew and Mary Gonda.

As a member of the Marine Corps, Raymond fought in World War Two; he served from 1943 to 1946 and saw action in the South Pacific, including Guam and the Philippines. After the war Raymond went to work for the Square D Company in the marketing department. He remained there for 38 years. Following his retirement from Square D, he worked an additional 13 years in the funeral industry. Raymond was a member of St. John Neumann Catholic Church. With the help of his wife, Dolores, and the late Father Masad, he engineered the purchase and installation of the church pews. He also facilitated the "Sponsor a Pew" program and personally mounted all the name plates. An avid sports fan, Ray enjoyed watching baseball, football, and basketball. He had also coached soccer in the local YMCA youth league.

Raymond is survived by his wife of 54 years, Dolores; their two sons, James (Karen) Gonda of Schenectady, NY, and Mark (Tina) Gonda of Charlotte, NC; four grandchildren, Andrew, Sarah, Philip, and Marcus; and sister, Louise. In addition to his parents, Ray was preceded in death by 7 brothers and sisters.

The funeral service for Mr. Gonda will be held at 2 o'clock, Friday, February 20th, at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, 100 Polo Rd, Columbia, with The Rev. Fr. C. Alexander "Sandy" McDonald officiating. Entombment will follow at Greenlawn Memorial Park Mausoleum, with military honors. Raymond's family will receive friends from 5 until 7 o'clock, Thursday evening, at Shives Funeral Home, Trenholm Road Chapel, 7600 Trenholm Rd, Columbia. Memorials may be made to St. John Neumann Catholic Church, 721 Polo Rd, Columbia, SC 29223.