Obituary for Raymond Lee Trenum
Raymond Lee Trenum, husband of fifty-four years to Barbara Cross Trenum, was born on March 17, 1941 in Westernport, Maryland, and died at the age of eighty on September 11, 2021 at his home in Warrenton, Virginia.
Having been raised by an Assemblies of God minister, Raymond’s ties to the Pentecostal Church held strong throughout his life. Following his high school years in Franklin, Ohio, he attended the Church of God’s Lee College (now University) in Cleveland, Tennessee where he was invited to join the Lee Singers choral ensemble. Raymond was blessed with a rich baritone singing voice, a gift that he loved to share with others in church choirs and performances, and many family weddings and events. He remained a singer into his final days, entertaining his family and even himself with renditions of some of his favorite gospel hymns and American classics including “Hound Dog” and “You Are My Sunshine.”
Raymond worked in the field of construction for most of his life, and retired as a heavy equipment operator of twenty-two years from the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC). He also used his construction skills over the years on personal projects with his beloved brothers, working on each other’s houses, as well as a shared hunting camp in West Virginia affectionately known in the family as “the cabin” where they spent countless hours making repairs and improvements, cooking family feasts, telling stories from childhood and beyond as “the Trenum Boys,” and occasionally even hunting.
Raymond’s kind and gentle way with children made him a natural at playing Santa Claus in local shopping malls for several Christmas seasons, a pursuit that ended only when his own grandchildren came along, so that he could enjoy more family holiday time.
Raymond was preceded in death by his parents Reverend Clarence William and Edna Marie Metcalfe Trenum; brothers Bill, Donald, and Norman Trenum; sisters JoAnna Jean Trenum and Patricia Metcalfe Gardner. Survivors include his wife Barbara; children Lee Trenum, Candace Trenum, Melissa Trenum Sistoza, and Jedd Trenum; daughters-in-law Kristin and Emily Trenum, and son-in-law Ralph Sistoza; grandchildren Josiah and Elana Sistoza, Raymond, Ava, Liliana, and Chloe Trenum; brothers David, Fitzhugh, Gilbert, Ronald, and Gary Trenum; and a host of other beloved family and dear friends.
Having been raised by an Assemblies of God minister, Raymond’s ties to the Pentecostal Church held strong throughout his life. Following his high school years in Franklin, Ohio, he attended the Church of God’s Lee College (now University) in Cleveland, Tennessee where he was invited to join the Lee Singers choral ensemble. Raymond was blessed with a rich baritone singing voice, a gift that he loved to share with others in church choirs and performances, and many family weddings and events. He remained a singer into his final days, entertaining his family and even himself with renditions of some of his favorite gospel hymns and American classics including “Hound Dog” and “You Are My Sunshine.”
Raymond worked in the field of construction for most of his life, and retired as a heavy equipment operator of twenty-two years from the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative (NOVEC). He also used his construction skills over the years on personal projects with his beloved brothers, working on each other’s houses, as well as a shared hunting camp in West Virginia affectionately known in the family as “the cabin” where they spent countless hours making repairs and improvements, cooking family feasts, telling stories from childhood and beyond as “the Trenum Boys,” and occasionally even hunting.
Raymond’s kind and gentle way with children made him a natural at playing Santa Claus in local shopping malls for several Christmas seasons, a pursuit that ended only when his own grandchildren came along, so that he could enjoy more family holiday time.
Raymond was preceded in death by his parents Reverend Clarence William and Edna Marie Metcalfe Trenum; brothers Bill, Donald, and Norman Trenum; sisters JoAnna Jean Trenum and Patricia Metcalfe Gardner. Survivors include his wife Barbara; children Lee Trenum, Candace Trenum, Melissa Trenum Sistoza, and Jedd Trenum; daughters-in-law Kristin and Emily Trenum, and son-in-law Ralph Sistoza; grandchildren Josiah and Elana Sistoza, Raymond, Ava, Liliana, and Chloe Trenum; brothers David, Fitzhugh, Gilbert, Ronald, and Gary Trenum; and a host of other beloved family and dear friends.