Raymond Charles Challenger, Mr

Born December 1949, in the suburb of Chelsea, Victoria. Firstborn son to Charles and Betty Challenger and later older brother to Dianne and Ronnie.  

Ray lived a jam-packed life of being an active boy and into everything. His mum would always say “If you live to see 21, I would be surprised.”

Well, he did! He met the love of his life, Rhonda at the age of 21. Then came the busy years of raising four children that he adored: Samantha, Tanya, Peter and Patricia. Grandchildren from these families include: Shea,Grace, Emily, Josh, Zac, Jess, Rebecca, Roxie, Alexie, Thomas, Paige and George. With one great grandchild - Meadow. 

After listening to Rhonda studying the scriptures for a better life, he too wished for his family to have a life with “a real future and a hope” and one that brings joy in hard work which was part of his upbringing. Which if you knew Ray, he was never afraid of hard work.  This desire to help others and be alongside them making a difference, meant that he was the first on the job and the last to leave. But, as he would often say, with a big, satisfied grin- "You get that on big jobs."

After 71 years, he finished this part of his journey on Sunday, March 7th, 2021. 

 Ray was never keen on the fuss or sadness that comes along with funerals or memorials. He wants his friends and family to picture this as a short break and focus on him very soon yelling out: “Put the kettle on, be down in a bit" or " That's an easy fix, will get my drill"  His favorite original song goes along with those sentiments. (Just Around the Corner - Romans 8:25). So in line with that, there will be no formal memorial or funeral service.

As a family, the words "thank you" seems not enough. We have grateful hearts to everyone for their constant and beautiful expressions and tears shared. The love and care to us during this time has been overwhelming and so comforting. 

So many have asked, "What can we do?" This is where this page is open to you.

If you would like to, you can leave a comment on the contact page, we would love to hear from you and cherish your memories, stories or pictures that you may have of Dad being cheeky, charming and full of life. 

Feel free to click on Momentos - to see a collection of Dad's photos.

We have received so many beautiful, heartfelt text messages this week, If you would like to put those thoughts directly below - we would love that, as we hope to publish this as a book. A little gift for Rhonda to cherish later.