Raymond E Mellina

RAYMOND E. MELLINA (1933-2022)

Born in Jackson Heights and raised in Astoria Queens, NY to Edward Mellina and Elizabeth Donnelly, Ray could often be seen palling around with his childhood friends, the Buccaneers. A wild and rowdy bunch of misfits that stayed friends their whole lives. If they weren’t swinging from the Hellgate bridge and diving into the East River, they could be spotted walking to La Guli’s Pastry Shop looking for a sweet treat. Most became accomplished professionals like architects, city council members or like Ray, an interior designer with a keen eye for spatial planning.

Ray went to Long Island City High School school in Queens, NY. After high school he had a serendipitous encounter with a woman who worked for his dad who taught at PRATT in Brooklyn. She saw a talent in Ray and implored him to enroll in the interior design program. He got his degree and was set to start the next chapter in his life.

Even though Raymond suffered severe motion sickness, he was drafted into the Navy in 1959 and spent the next 2 years trying to keep some meat on his bones. Something he didn’t have any issues with once he met his future wife and she learned how to cook Italian style meatballs and a mean marinara from his mother.

He would often say that the Navy gave him the opportunity to see the world and experience other cultures. That it was important to learn about how the world works. From the Parthenon to Paris, his pictures from his time abroad show how absolutely amazed he was with all aspects of architecture.

But he loved New York. He was a New York guy. He loved the energy, the people, the buildings, the arts, the restaurants and of course, the bars.

Upon discharge from the Navy, Ray worked for United Steel before starting his own company, Furniture Forum. Here, Ray got an opportunity to work in one of the most famous buildings in the world, The Woolworth Building. He was tasked with creating office spaces that were filled with both beauty and function. He loved drafting the blueprints and creating mood boards with all the pieces coming together. He forged career long relationships with Woolworth and enjoyed many collaborations.

One day while waiting for the subway, he saw a beautiful woman with porcelain Irish skin and jet black hair that was pulled back into a high ponytail. Without missing a beat, he asked his friend who she was and waited every day at that train stop for her to get off the train until one day he finally asked her out.

He married the love of his life, Regina McKenna on April 29, 1961 and continued to have three beautiful children, Brian, Christopher and Maureen. The early years of marriage were tight - all living in a one bedroom apartment in Queens, but it was Ray’s talent for space planning that Regina said she never felt like the place was too small.

Ray told Regina about this place that his dad used to take him when he was a kid - it was this faraway place called New Jersey. Nestled just 32 miles from NYC was a beautiful lake community called Fayson Lakes. They were smitten from the day they drove their ‘65 VW Van up RT 23, taking on the tree-covered winding roads that landed them at 6 Colonial Lane. This is where Raymond was destined to live the rest of his life. He would raise his kids, he would join the tennis club, he would take his wife to countless dinners and events, he would renovate a used sailboat and take it on the lake, he would camp, and hike and tell scary stories around a fire. He would remark that they were the luckiest people in the world because they found paradise and continued to cultivate a beautiful life for their family.

Ray would split his days commuting to his studio in Manhattan where Regina would join him several days a week acting as an office manager. They sure did enjoy their long lunches together.

Ray was also active in the community. He was always volunteering for cleaning or repairing items around the lake on Earth Day every year. He coached his sons football teams and never missed his daughters basketball games. Every couple of years he and a few of his friends would make a pilgrimage to Notre Dame to watch a football game.

Later in life, with his children grown and out of the house, Ray would stay engaged with his craft by taking computer classes and learning how to draft and make blueprints in the digital age. He loved to see how technology was changing his field, and never felt threatened by progress. Even though he did try answering the phone one day with the TV remote. It happens.

He loved sitting in his backyard paradise with his wife in Fayson Lakes. He always kept a jar of peanuts on his lap so he could hand feed all the chipmunks and watch the Yankees.

Ray was loved. It really is true - everyone loves Raymond.

He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Regina Mellina, his son Brian Mellina and his partner Darlene Sansone, his son Christopher Mellina and his partner, Margarita Polo and his daughter Maureen Mellina and her partner, Darrell Moore. He is also survived by his two grandchildren Nicholas Brooks and his husband, Christian Brooks, his granddaughter Meghan Mellina and her partner Walter Stremouchow. He is preceded in death by his older brother Edward Mellina.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to be made in Raymond’s honor at www.cancer.org

A Memorial Service will be held on January 7, 2023, 12:00 PM at Our Lady of the Magnificat Chapel, 2 Miller Road, Kinnelon, NJ 07405

Celebration of Life will follow,  January 7, 2023, from 1:30 - 5:30 PM at Cypress Tavern, 174 Kinnelon Road, Kinnelon, NJ 07405