Lourette Raymon returned to the Creator on October 6, 2021 after a valiant battle with pancreatic cancer. She came to this world in Houston, Texas, on the 1st of March, 1938 and was given the name Celia Lourette. Celia in honor of her father's sister, and Lourette for her mother's college roommate.
She was daughter of Pauline Johnson Raymon, whose family set down roots in America from Scotland sometime in the 1700s and Sam J. Raymon, who arrived in America as an infant with his family fleeing the persecution of the Jews in Russia, and to seek a better life, in the early 20th century. Lourette believed her inheritance was the embodiment of the American Dream and experience, a combination of Hebrew and Christian cultures, first generation and Daughters of the Republic. Pauline's father (G.W.Johnson) was a minister and forester, her mother (Lilly) a homemaker and nurse. Pauline was the eldest of five children, an avid reader with a scientific mind, and became executive secretary to the CEO of Kirby Lumber. Sam's father(Jacob Bery Rachmann known after arrival in Philadelphia as Raymon) was a merchant, his mother (Tatiana known as Tina) was a homemaker. Sam worked as a high school sports coach, a semi professional card player and a salesman, who widely traveled the country by car long before interstate highways. Sam Raymon was known for his impeccable honesty and integrity.
Lourette Raymon lived her life In the pursuit of knowledge and art; attending Stephens College, The University of Houston, and The University of Missouri, at different times in her journey, she earned a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts and a Masters Degree in Guidance and Counseling. Her artistic career began in Houston, at the tender age of 15, performing with Theatre Incorporated. After attending Stephens, a private women's college, for music, she headed to New York City to pursue her devotion to opera. In possession of great beauty, a glorious lyric soprano voice, natural acting instincts, and a disarming innocence, she became a singer with New York City Opera, Guy Lomabardo at Jones Beach, and performed on Broadway in ANYA, beside the luminaries Constance Towers and Lillian Gish. Her mentor was the world famous bass-baritone George London, and he remained a dear friend to her all his life. At City Opera she met and married James Benjamin Davis, Jr. and had one daughter, Dana Caitlin Davis. Despite her talent in singing and acting, and charming many powerful and famous professionals in the New York theatre world, she claimed to never possess the ambition to fight for the spotlight, preferring the inclusion of being in an ensemble. After a divorce, she trailblazed an eclectic career path; she was a 5th grade teacher at PS 187 in NYC, a social worker for the Aged, Blind and Disabled program in rural Texas, an extension agent in Missouri, and a race horse owner and breeder in Kentucky. Stricken by Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in 1978, she left the work force and focused on being a mother, not only to her daughter but to the many horses and dogs that brought profound meaning and joy to her life. She developed exceptional writing skills in poetry, short stories and essays. She also was a talented painter. She loved to collect books on a myriad of subjects and her library is filled with history, science, art, and biographies. They remain to enlighten, surrounded by her Victorian furniture, her treasured antiques, and her adored animals in her Kentucky farm, being cared for by her daughter. Lourette's motto was, "Hope for the best...Expect the best...Prepare for disaster." She lived life on her own terms, strong and independent, loyal and honest. Truth was her armor of invicibility, and tolerance was her code of honor. She is survived by her daughter, Dana Caitlin (DC) Davis, her niece, Robin Raymon Meier and her children, and the many friends and cousins whose lives were enhanced by her wisdom and affection.
Her poem, "Our Unknown" encapsulates her spiritual philosophy. 

 

OUR UNKNOWN by Lourette Raymon 

Although death is a finality,
In Truth, it may not be reality. 

The loss in ours to bear,
Our hearts endure the tears. 

Our minds are taught to hope,
Although they haven't the scope 

To understand the universe,
We stall in shock behind the hearse. 

The stars and sun still shine,
And bring some solace to our minds. 

The reason life isn't comprehensible,
Is because it is only sensible 

To human's small perceptions,
But science can add its conceptions. 

And maybe, before we destroy
All life on earth, we can employ 

Scientists to find life's intricate design, 

To answer why. Answers may be behind 

A galaxy beyond our reach for this time. 

Perhaps our search, is just to find the signs 

To direct us, to the dissolution 

Of all life, into its final evolution.