In your honor, sir; The ‘Voice of Owego’ laid to rest

You can view video clips from the funeral at https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1HFAnggJZ9/.

You can read more about Jim Raftis Sr. at ‘News Never Sleeps’ – Owego’s Voice, a community steward and Korean War veteran, remembered

 

— By Wendy Post —

Last week’s services and funeral for Jim Raftis, Sr. of Owego were held leading up to Memorial Day on Monday; a ceremony that Raftis led for years. Months of planning for the annual ceremony were in Jim’s wheelhouse, as he served in the military. According to all accounts, he was a keeper of records at his duty station during the Korean War, a task that created a blueprint for the decades of service he would provide to veterans back home.

With his involvement in so many organizations, including Owego Little League, to which a field bears the Raftis name, his loss was felt across the county and even across the ocean. Erwin Flohr, who decorates the graves of Tioga County’s fallen overseas, traveled to the United States with plans to meet Rafts, but he passed away on Mother’s Day. Flohr traveled anyway.

As for this writer, Jim continued to put veterans at the forefront, news-wise. His record-keeping trickled over into the time he spent keeping track of those who served, those deployed, where the gravesites of the deceased are located, and ensuring that recognition of Tioga County’s veterans remains strong. That we continue to honor, remember, and thank those who have served and continue to serve today.

Jim would send multiple messages when dates of significance in the veteran community were approaching, such as Pearl Harbor Day, Veterans Day, Memorial Day, Wreaths Across Tioga County in conjunction with the National Wreaths Across America effort, and recognizing ALL veterans.

This writer’s first attempt to handle Memorial Day for the first time in my 20-years as editor for The Owego Pennysaver was a bit of a challenge, but one that was handled, as many witnessed on Monday, in a fashion that Jim Raftis, Sr. would have been proud of.

Albeit a few hiccups in the coverage, without Jim’s careful attention to detail, the message that we must teach, honor, and remember resounded. 

As we move forward with coverage for our veteran community, it will take time to pick up the pieces that Jim Raftis, Sr. left behind.

But in the meantime, it was an absolute honor to capture the love and support shown to Jim Raftis, Sr. over the last couple of weeks, as everyone came together on Memorial Day, they knew that his legacy of caring for our veterans lives on.

I will note that during last Saturday’s graveside ceremony, the grave of Spc. Charles Bilbrey Jr. was nearby. SPC Charles E. Bilbrey, Jr., a Tioga County soldier, lost his life in 2007 while on a volunteer mission in Iraq. His mother, a Gold Star Mother, Barbara Bilbrey, stepped in to serve as this year’s Master of Ceremonies for the 2025 Memorial Day ceremony.

On Jim’s gravestone, his wife Virginia’s name was already written on it as he now joins her.

At the Courthouse Square, and as it was originally intended to say, Jim’s “voice” for decades honored the names etched upon the memorials that honor our fallen, those who gave their all in sacrifice to our country, and so our freedom remains free.

RIP Jim Raftis, Sr., and as many would say, “Well done. Well done.”