Raymond Gendreau

Raymond John Gendreau, 84, a resident of Natick and previously of Hopkinton, died Oct. 31, 2026, after a period of declining health in which his love of life and the company of others never wavered.

Ray was born in Tacoma, Washington, the son of the late John and Dorothy (Grabinski) Gendreau, the eldest sibling to the late Tom and Sharon. His devotion to his family and his enterprising spirit showed themselves early; as a boy he took jobs picking vegetables at neighboring farms and delivering newspapers, and later he even started his own ice cream truck business. After college, he joined the Air Force and found himself stationed on Cape Cod, where he found the love of his life, Sheila Ann (Barrett) Gendreau. The two wed on Oct. 21, 1967, and would enjoy 58 years together. They spent the first of those years apart, however, while Ray was stationed in Alaska. When his next assignment to a base in Panama threatened to keep them apart even longer, the couple ignored a letter expressly forbidding Sheila from accompanying him, and they drove together from Massachusetts all the way down in a convertible, adventuring all the way. While there, they had their first child, Christina.

The family moved to Florida, then back to Massachusetts, where their second child, John, soon arrived. Ray found success at several companies before deciding, with Sheila, to go into the printing business. They started by owning a Sir Speedy location in Wellesley, then a second in Waltham. They eventually bought their way out of the franchise and formed the independent Apex Press, where they had great success for many years. Ray left the Air Force at the rank of lieutenant colonel and served in the National Guard for several years after.

Always the type of man to get up hours before the rest of his family on vacation, Ray spent his retirement gardening and joining the Hopkinton Veterans Celebration Committee and the historical societies of Natick and Hopkinton — organizing many events for them all — and helping to coordinate the Boston Marathon at its starting line each year. He also threw himself into genealogy, tracking down and meeting possibly every other Gendreau on the North American continent. He, also, of course, loved being Papa to his grandchildren and continued to enjoy spending time with his whole family as often as possible. Though seemingly tireless, he was a great lover of naps.

Ray loved birds, as well as devising new ways to thwart the squirrels who tried to eat from his bird feeders. These efforts most famously resulted in an elaborate construction in the backyard of the Hopkinton house, holding a plethora of feeders and squirrel-impeders that the family referred to as “The Structure.” He was a great admirer of Benjamin Franklin, a kindred spirit in printing, lifelong curiosity and learning, and the belief that “early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.”

Ray is survived by his children, Christina Carignan and husband Chris of Natick, John Herron Gendreau and wife Kate of Detroit, and grandchildren Ryan and Sarah Carignan.

Family and friends are invited to honor and remember Ray’s life by gathering for a time of visitation in the McCarthy, McKinney & Lawler Funeral Home in Framingham on Friday, Nov. 13, beginning at 9 a.m. His funeral services will begin at 11 a.m. Interment will follow in St. Stephen Cemetery, Framingham.

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