Memorial Planned For Riverhead 'Pioneer Of Revitalization'

RIVERHEAD, NY — The community will come together Sunday to remember Raymond Pickersgill, who died at 71 in April after a battle with the coronavirus.

The Riverhead Business Improvement District, Wedel Sign Company, Robert James Salon, family and friends have planted a Crepe myrtle tree and designated the first bench at the west end of the riverwalk in his honor. A memorial ceremony will be held at the spot Sunday at 10 a.m.

Social distancing and mask requirements must be adhered to.

Former Riverhead Business Improvement District President Pickersgill was a bright light on the Riverhead canvas, the creative force behind many popular events — including Alive on 25, the Cardboard Boat Race, the indoor Farmers Market, fireworks, and the well-loved antique car show — that drew crowds to the downtown he worked so hard to revitalize.

Pickersgill owned the Robert James Salon on Main Street and was a familiar face — and friend — to the countless whose lives he touched.

"I would like to give those of you who have been lucky enough to have known my father Raymond Pickersgill comfort and thanks and love for all your prayers and wishes," his daughter Lisa wrote on Facebook after his death. "My mother Margaret Pickersgill and my family are in a surreal place. My father was a kind, amazing man that I was lucky enough to say was my father. He was an amazing son, brother, husband, father, uncle, brother-in-law, cousin, godfather, grandfather, grandfather uncle to Derek, and friend. He was smart, with a heart of gold — and savvy."

Her father, she added, "loved unconditionally. He was so proud to be involved in the county and town he adopted — Riverhead. The friends he made and the fun he had were some of his fondest memories. My father would give anyone anything they needed and would do anything he could to help anyone without a second thought. He didn't care if it would be at his expense, of time or money. He truly had a golden heart."

Lisa added: "There are many things I remember and respect about my father but most of all I would like him to be remembered as a man who loved deeply his wife and children, grandchildren, his parents, and his siblings." He also loved his cousins in England, she said, and cherished their visits.

Friends remembered the man who touched their lives.

"He did such great things for the downtown Riverhead BID and for downtown Riverhead," Diane Tucci said. "He leaves a legacy for sure. I didn't realize until I took the position of executive director for the BID, how much work he put into the events and activities downtown. Those were big shoes for me to fill, and as I tackled more projects downtown, I had even more respect for how hard he worked and how passionate he was."

Pickersgill's longtime friend Anthony Coates spoke of how he wanted to remember him: "We were sitting around gabbing on a beautiful day and 'Mr. Ray' said, 'Let's hose down the docks'. That was Ray Pickersgill: He didn't sit still; he was always looking to help. To do something, not for himself, but, for someone."

For many years on Main Street, when residents saw Pickersgill, they likely saw him with his dear friend John Mantzopoulos, whose Greek restaurant was located next door to Pickersgill's salon.

Even after both businesses shuttered, the pair remained friends, launching a new endeavor, a transportation business that centered on driving clients to the airport.

"If you ever needed a second father, Ray was like that second father," Mantzopoulos said.

Reflecting on the years they spent together in downtown Riverhead, Mantzopoulos said the bond they forged was lifelong. "He wasn't just my neighbor or the BID president. It was a lot more personal."

The pair would do a lot to help one another, and for downtown Riverhead, he said. "Sometimes it would go unnoticed by many but we weren't doing it for us, or to get recognition, but to better the community. On a Saturday or Sunday morning we'd go down to the dock and pull out a hose to wash the walkway. Or we'd grab a paint brush to paint over the graffiti. We did a lot of things together."

He and Pickersgill shared years of memories. "You didn't have to ask Raymond to do something for you. If the sump pump went in the basement, he'd say, 'Let's go get the car.' His wife Margaret and daughter Lisa, too. All three of them are beautiful people."

For Mantzopolous, the loss runs deep. "It's like I lost my father," he said. "Coronavirus took somebody very dear from me."

Nancy Kouris, owner of the Blue Duck Bakery, remembered Pickersgill. "He was a force for Riverhead as a business owner and president of the BID. He always supported us in Riverhead, and recruited me to be on the BID board. . .We will forever be grateful for all he did for the Riverhead business community and us. May he rest in peace."

Her father, Lisa said, had "an incredible golden heart of unconditional love and friendship" and will forever be remembered for "his kindness, positive outlook and hard work ethic. There was never a drop of ulterior motive — only what was good for the town or the project or the person or business he was helping. They don't make many like him. He was honorable— and had so much integrity."