Raymond Garuti Sr Passes Away at 95
Raymond Garuti Sr., 95, of Southington, passed away on Sunday, May 10, 2020 at Autumn Lake Health Care in Cromwell. He was the husband of the late Irene (Cap) Garuti.
Ray, with his brother Rich, owned and operated Ray’s Garage in Kensington for 39 years. Out of that small garage, the brothers built some of the fastest modified race cars on the East Coast, winning around 150 feature events with such drivers as Eddie Flemke, Smokey Boutwell, Jocko Maggiacomo and Moe Gherzi. The Garuti Brothers were inducted into the New England Race Car Hall of Fame on January 30, 2011. Ray was a US Army Veteran.
Ray is survived by two sons, Ronald Garuti and his wife Libby of New Hartford and Raymond R. Garuti and his wife Naomi Jean “Bunny” of Middlefield; 7 grandchildren, Jennifer, Jaclyn, Jeffrey, Jamie, Beth, Dave and Stephen; 6 great-grandchildren; 1 great-great-grandson and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brother Richard Garuti and two sisters, Eve Andre and Geraldine Mokalus.
Ray was a loving husband, practical, creative, inventive; a wonderful mentor and always there for his children and grandchildren. He will be greatly missed.
Due to the COVID19 pandemic, Funeral services will be private. The Della Vecchia Funeral Home, 211 N. Main St., Southington is assisting with arrangements.
For online condolences, please visit www.dellavecchiafh.com
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Sources: https://www.dellavecchiafh.com/
Here is the biography from his 2011 New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame induction:
Garuti Brothers
Car Owner/Builder
Class of 2011
Rich and Ray Garuti are truly New England auto racing pioneers, building their first stock car for Plainville Stadium early in the 1950s. They continued to build winning cars for over two decades, scoring on both the United Stock Club and NASCAR circuits. The numbers 14 and 28 will forever be associated with the New Britain, CT natives.
They began with the Midgets, first maintaining somebody else’s car before acquiring their own. Johnny DeLeo remembers some impressive runs in the #14 V60-powered Kurtis. Modifieds, however, is where they made their mark.
George Lombardo, Moe Gherzi, Ed Flemke, Jocko Maggiacomo, and Smokey Boutwell were the principal drivers. The cars out of Ray’s Garage in the Kensington section of Berlin, CT had dominating seasons with Lombardo at Plainville Stadium and with Gherzi at the Waterford Speedbowl before moving on to Riverside Park, United’s flagship for over two decades. It became a two-car operation in 1956, Gherzi and Flemke (in the #28) combining to win the 500 that season. It was also the first of two Riverside championships (the other being ’58) Flemke won driving for the Garutis. Maggiacomo added two more 500 wins to the Riverside resume, teaming with Bobby Bishop in ’64 and Billy Greco in ’65, the latter his last race.
They moved on to NASCAR with Flemke and Boutwell, the latter winning the 1969 Stafford championship in his final season. More folklore, the car, with Flemke aboard, won the first race at Stafford under the Arute family ownership in 1970. They were a force at Thompson as well.