Raymond Veikko Kauppila

PAXTON - Raymond Veikko Kauppila, 92, of Paxton passed away on December 9, 2016 at the Holden Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center after a brief illness.
Ray was born in Worcester in 1924, a son of Sven and Mari (Hoiska) Kauppila. He lived most of his life in Paxton. He was predeceased by his wife, Beatrice (Murphy) Kauppila in 2005. They were married for 54 years. He leaves five children, Glenn S. Kauppila of Rutland, MA, Neil E. Kauppila of Holden MA, Alan M. Kauppila of Morganton, NC, Beverly (Kauppila) Donahue of Acton, MA and Marie L. Kauppila of Charlton, MA; 11 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Anja (Kauppila) Caulkins of West Covina, CA and his brother, Ed Kauppila of Citrus Hills, CA, and is predeceased by 3 brothers, Tyko, Kauko and Walter.
Ray graduated from Commerce High School in Worcester in 1943. In 1945 he served in the US Army in the 236th Combat Engineers in Namhkam Burma. His duties included construction of the Burma Road as well as being the Company bugler.
Moving to Paxton in 1949, he worked for a few construction firms before starting his own business. Raymond Concrete Construction, founded in 1961, is still operated by the family. He was also a building inspector for the Town of Paxton for a number of years.
As a longtime member of the Finnish American Club of Rutland, MA he served as president and worked on many building expansion projects and improvements to Sovittaja Park.
In retirement Ray remained active with his many hobbies and interests. He enjoyed carpentry, woodworking, wood carving, weaving, photography, playing the accordion, antique cars, and travel.
As a member of Sovittaja wood carvers, he spent many hours learning this new skill and enjoyed the camaraderie of the other carvers. In the winter months you could find him at his loom weaving rugs. This loom was acquired in Finland on one of several trips he made there. He and his daughter learned weaving from a cousin in the 1970's but remembers his mother weaving when he was young. Preserving his Finnish heritage through his weaving, wood carving and music was something that he was very proud of.
He was a charter member of the Chicago Chapter, Basha, of the China-Burma-India Veterans Association (CBI). In 2005, Ray returned to Burma and to the village where he served in WWII. With him he brought his bugle and played TAPS at the memorial site as a final tribute.
He will be greatly missed by his family and many friends who were fortunate to know him.  Relatives and friends are invited to visit with the family from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, January 6, in the Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main St., Holden.  A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 7, in the funeral home with burial following in Mooreland Cemetery, Paxton.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the "Finnish Heritage Society" to support the Sovittaja Scholarship Fund. Mail to Eva Hirvi, 4 Ridgewood Road, Paxton MA 01612.
To share a memory or offer an online condolence, please "sign the guest book" on this page.


PAXTON - Raymond Veikko Kauppila, 92, of Paxton passed away on December 9, 2016 at the Holden Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center after a brief illness. Ray was born in Worcester in 1924, a son of Sven and Mari (Hoiska) Kauppila. He lived most of his life in Paxton. He was predeceased by his wife, Beatrice (Murphy) Kauppila in 2005. They were married for 54 years. He leaves five children, Glenn S. Kauppila of Rutland, MA, Neil E. Kauppila of Holden MA, Alan M. Kauppila of Morganton, NC, Beverly (Kauppila) Donahue of Acton, MA and Marie L. Kauppila of Charlton, MA; 11 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Anja (Kauppila) Caulkins of West Covina, CA and his brother, Ed Kauppila of Citrus Hills, CA, and is predeceased by 3 brothers, Tyko, Kauko and Walter. Ray graduated from Commerce High School in Worcester in 1943. In 1945 he served in the US Army in the 236th Combat Engineers in Namhkam Burma. His duties included construction of the Burma Road as well as being the Company bugler. Moving to Paxton in 1949, he worked for a few construction firms before starting his own business. Raymond Concrete Construction, founded in 1961, is still operated by the family. He was also a building inspector for the Town of Paxton for a number of years. As a longtime member of the Finnish American Club of Rutland, MA he served as president and worked on many building expansion projects and improvements to Sovittaja Park. In retirement Ray remained active with his many hobbies and interests. He enjoyed carpentry, woodworking, wood carving, weaving, photography, playing the accordion, antique cars, and travel. As a member of Sovittaja wood carvers, he spent many hours learning this new skill and enjoyed the camaraderie of the other carvers. In the winter months you could find him at his loom weaving rugs. This loom was acquired in Finland on one of several trips he made there. He and his daughter learned weaving from a cousin in the 1970's but remembers his mother weaving when he was young. Preserving his Finnish heritage through his weaving, wood carving and music was something that he was very proud of. He was a charter member of the Chicago Chapter, Basha, of the China-Burma-India Veterans Association (CBI). In 2005, Ray returned to Burma and to the village where he served in WWII. With him he brought his bugle and played TAPS at the memorial site as a final tribute. He will be greatly missed by his family and many friends who were fortunate to know him.  Relatives and friends are invited to visit with the family from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, January 6, in the Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main St., Holden.  A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, January 7, in the funeral home with burial following in Mooreland Cemetery, Paxton.  In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the "Finnish Heritage Society" to support the Sovittaja Scholarship Fund. Mail to Eva Hirvi, 4 Ridgewood Road, Paxton MA 01612. To share a memory or offer an online condolence, please "sign the guest book" on this page.