Raymond Michalek, age 83, of Kenosha, passed away on August 7th, 2023, at Aurora Medical Center. He was born on October 14th, 1939, to the late Roman and Laya Michalek. He graduated from Bradford High School in 1958. In 1961, he spent over 1 year in Vietnam while serving in the U.S. Army. After his military service, he opened and operated Keno Billiards in downtown Kenosha.
He was employed at American Motors for over 40 years and retired in 2000. He loved visiting Las Vegas and had been there 32 times during his life. During his time in Vegas, he loved watching many of the magic shows. He loved doing magic tricks and even owned the magic store on 60th street. He was affectionately known by his friends as, “Society Ray”. He loved doing crossword puzzles, and solitaire. He loved sweets, especially lemon heads, and M&Ms. He has often self-proclaimed that he was one of the best archers in Kenosha County when he was young.
Raymond loved to read, his favorite authors include John Grissom and David Baldacci. He also loved western movies including Gunsmoke and Have Gun-Will Travel.
He is survived by Jimmy Greco and John Greco, and close friends Geno Paura, Laura Luetkens, Kristine Yance, and Rick Bathe. He is preceded in death by his parents, and close friends: Bernice Bathe, and Kim Neu.
Raymond’s memorial service will be held at Baker Park at some point soon.