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It greatly saddens me to have to tell you about a great loss to our store family that happened this past week. Many of you may have heard about a kayaking accident that occurred in the late afternoon this past Saturday Jan. 2^nd on Peconic Bay.

The victim of this kayak accident was our coworker and friend Raistlin (Ray) Ruther.

Ray brought an exceptional “can do” attitude with him every day at work. He was always eager to learn, and help out wherever needed. Ray was well liked and respected by all the employees at Talmage Farm Agway, as well as the customers that he helped in our nursery and warehouse.

Ray’s Senior Year at Riverhead High School was shortened in 2020 due to Covid-19, like so many other young graduates, my own son among them. He began working with us before starting his Junior Year. He was away from our store for a few months due to personal obligations, but recently came back with that big smile and happy attitude that he was known for. Our store staff welcomed Ray back and were happy and thankful that he was back on our team.

Just about every night at closing, when Ray punched out for the day, he almost always would stand in the middle of the store, in sight of my desk, and would wave to me and call out “Bye”. This always made me think of what a polite and caring young man that Ray was.

That is how I want to remember him.

“Ray – Please know that you have made a positive impact on all your coworkers and leave behind a legacy of hard work and decency that we will all remember.”

Bill Van Schaick – Mgr.