Raymond Edwin Croot Sr.

July 12, 1931 - February 24, 2022

Raymond E. Croot, Sr., 90, of Bluff City, TN, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, February 24, 2022 at the Life Care Center of Elizabethton. He was born in Chester, New Jersey and was the son of the late Raymond and Edna Dickerson Croot. Raymond was a Navy veteran of the Korean War. He was also a lifetime member of the Chester Fire Company in Chester, NJ, where he served as Fire Chief and President for several years. Raymond retired from Verizon after 33 years of service. He started out as a lineman climbing telephone poles and finished his career working in the central office in Morristown, NJ. Upon his retirement, Raymond and his wife Gertrude moved to Smith Mountain Lake, VA for 10 years, then to Goose Creek, SC for 7 years before they settled in Tennessee, first in Church Hill, then finally Bluff City. Those left to cherish memories of Raymond include his loving wife of 70 years, Gertrude R. Croot, his sons: Raymond E. Croot, Jr., of Hillsborough, NJ, Jeffrey A. Croot, of Albrightsville, PA: his daughter, Deborah Melancon, of Blountville, TN, nine grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. The family will honor Raymond’s life during a military committal service at 1:00 pm on Wednesday, March 2, 2022 at Mountain Home National Cemetery, Mountain Home, TN. Everyone is asked to meet at the old historical side of the cemetery by 12:50 pm on Wednesday.