April 20, 1953 - July 29, 2021
Ray Burlingame-Goff died on July 29th, 2021
in Mannheim Germany after a two-year battle with kidney cancer. He was 68 years
old.
Ray passed away peacefully in the arms of his devoted wife and constant
companion, Carolyn. He will be lovingly remembered by the three children they
were parenting together, Cara, Leo and Johnny Burmedi as well as by Ray's
daughters from an earlier marriage, Michaela and Linden Goff. Ray is also
survived by his two sisters Dee Brook (Tony) and Ann Esberger (John); his
nephews and nieces Simon Jones, Adam Esberger (Jo), and Lora Esberger; his
great-nephew Charlie and great-niece Evie; and his Bengal cats Dot and Dash,
who brought him great joy in the final months of his life.
Growing up in Farnborough, Hampshire, Ray was a natural engineer - always
fascinated by how things worked. He became enthralled with ham radio operation
at the tender age of eight when he built a crystal set with his cousin Pete.
Ray's contribution to amateur radio is one of his most significant legacies:
not only was he active in many clubs and events, but his Morse code and Contest
Programs have been downloaded by thousands and are actively used throughout the
international amateur radio community.
Ray was exceptionally proud to have worked for himself for most of his career.
He was a co-founder of Starfish Technologies Limited with Graham Neden-Watts
and continued to create software for them until shortly before his death. Even
on his most difficult days, Ray always found a bit of time "to
Starfish."
Life hit the re-set button for Ray when he and Carolyn "became an
item" in 2014. In the seven years they were together, they settled in a
new home near Cambridge and commuted between it and Heidelberg, Germany. Their
love of travel took them to Scotland, Iceland, Greece, Turkey, France, Italy,
Switzerland, and the final two States Ray needed to claim visits to all 48 of
the continental United States. Team Burlingame-Goff worked on three plays
together with their close friends Cheryl and Tom Navo, Lois Borsay and Gurdon
Smith; helmed the Unitarian Universalists in Europe organization for two years;
and made a significant dent in Carolyn's research projects. Ray's example as a
loving husband and stepfather served as an inspiration to many. His years with
Carolyn were a happy and healing time for their family.
Ray's life centered on three loves: love of radio, love of his company, and
love of his family. When he received his cancer diagnosis he responded with
characteristic optimism: "Well, at least I had a life." Those of us
who had the privilege of sharing it with him will treasure him always.
