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In Memory of Raymond F. Colliton Co-Cure Project

Ecoclimber

Senior Member
Messages
1,011
Your unheraled contribution and dedication to ME/CFS will be long remembered. My prayers & thoughts go out to family members.

https://listserv.nodak.edu/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind1601e&L=co-cure&F=&S=&P=7333

RAYMOND F. COLLITON HAS DIED
Raymond F. Colliton
March 10, 1947 - January 29, 2016

"There is no possession more valuable than a good and faithful
friend." ~ Socrates

"If the machine of government is of such a nature that it requires you
to be the agent of injustice to another, then I say, break the law."
~Henry David Thoreau

By Maryann Spurgin, Ph.D.
ME Society of America

It is with great sorrow and sadness that I must announce the death of
my close friend and our colleague, Raymond F. Colliton, known to his
friends and family as a brilliant, witty, erudite, kind and giving
person, an entertaining conversationalist, and devoted to his family.
Ray died peacefully in hospice care on January 29, 2016, with his
loving wife, Bernice Melsky, at his side.

He was 68 years old.

Ray is known in the ME community as the owner and manager of the
Co-cure project, an email list serve and (now-archived) website that
kept the community of researchers and patients informed on the science
and politics of ME for decades. Ray also did all of the webmaster work
on my "ME Society of America" website. He spent much time, energy, and
money keeping the ME community informed as well as helping patients,
although he had not been involved in Co-cure for the last two years
due to illness & retirement He kept a very low online / internet
profile, staying out of the limelight and working behind the scenes.

Ray had a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy; he shared the
philosopher's ongoing questioning of the status quo, and he flouted
anything that stood in the way of helping his friends and family,
knowing that law and morality were often on opposite sides. He
understood the power structures of the world, of law, business, and
politics. He was classically educated, studied Latin, knew politics,
history, economics, and science, and I thoroughly enjoyed his
knowledge on so many things and his entertaining conversation for many
years. Ray had a sporting, clever sense of humor and often took
hilarious pot shots at my (many) flaws, which had me in stitches
laughing everytime we spoke.

Ray, when young, had planned to become a Catholic priest; after
obtaining a degree in philosophy, he gave that up to study finance,
and he was a financial whiz. Prior to becoming ill with ME in 1988, he
had a career in systems administration for a Fortune 500 company, then
went on to develop his own small business consulting firm. He had
extensive experience in pension plan and employee benefits plan design
and management. He was the managing owner of the Co-Cure Project, a
large international information distribution e-mail list and Web site,
both of which were devoted to science and advocacy issues surrounding
ME.

Ray went into the hospital in Bensalem, PA, with bronchitis in late
December, complicating his emphysema. Hospitalization made him worse,
he became weaker, too weak to swallow, he developed pneumonia & had to
have oxygen and a ventilator in the ICU. After several weeks of
fighting to get better in ICU, Ray and Bernice made the decision to
move him to the hospice section of the hospital on January 28.

My heart goes out to his caring wife, Bernice Melsky, his brother
Edward, sisters Margie and Maggie, daughter Carrie and many other
family members who loved him.

My heart is very heavy because he was one of my best friends EVER,
another close friend gone too soon.

May his adoring family find peace in wonderful memories, and may those
of us with ME be grateful for the massive amount of work he did to
help patients as he worked behind the spolight.

He will live in the hearts of those of us who knew him.

Ray, you are missed.

This post was approved by his brother, Edward V. Colliton, Ph.D.
Written by Maryann Spurgin, Ph.D., long time friend of the deceased
and founder of the ME Society of America, now archived:

https://web.archive.org/web/20140401062754/http://www.cfids-cab.org/MESA/





 

Sushi

Moderation Resource Albuquerque
Messages
19,935
Location
Albuquerque
Here is a way that he is being honored on Facebook:


The blue rose on a profile indicates that a person with ME/CFS has died. We wear the rose on our profile for 24-hours to honor their memory, and to raise awareness about the seriousness of ME/CFS. Another Loss to the ME Community: Raymond F. Colliton of Co-Cure
 

shannah

Senior Member
Messages
1,429
So sad to live with this illness so long and fight so hard without the acknowledgement, answers, help and treatment he so needed and deserved.

One bright spot is that it sounds like he had an amazing and wonderful support system.

Condolences to those who loved and cared for Ray.