Raymond Joseph Brzuchalski

Raymond ("Ray") Joseph Brzuchalski of Stevensville, MD passed away February 2, 2023. Ray was the son of the late Joseph Albert Brzuchalski and Irene Sroka Brzuchalski. He was preceded in death by his brother Michael Joseph Brzuchalski and is survived by his brother, Joseph Albert Brzuchalski of Millersville, MD. He is survived by his beloved wife, Ethel (Billy) Brzuchalski of Stevensville; by two sons, Raymond Joseph Brzuchalski (Carol Scheiber) of Phoenix, Maryland and Keith Brzuchalski of Stevensville; by his daughter, Denise Wright (Jefferson V. Wright) of Edgewater, Maryland. He is also survived by two grandsons, Andrew Joseph Brzuchalski and Evan Scheiber, and three granddaughters, Alexandra Wright Ekroth, Katherine Wright Murray and Casey Marie Brzuchalski. There will be a viewing on February 9, 2023 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. and 6:00-8:00 p.m at Kaczorowski Funeral Home, 1201 Dundalk Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21222. A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, February 10, 2023 at Kaczorowski Funeral Home, with an interment to follow at Oak Lawn Cemetery, and a reception with details to be announced. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or any preferred charity.

Ray led a full and vigorous life for virtually all of his 91 years. His early years were spread among multiple places in Maryland including Stoney Run, Havre de Grace and Baltimore and these younger days were spent assisting in multiple family businesses and farms owned by his parents and grandparents. As a young man, he proudly served in the U.S. Navy in the 1950s upon the heavy cruiser U.S.S. Macon with service in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean and was often assigned to KP duty, which seemingly led to a desire to have other people prepare food and clean dishes for the remainder of his life (except for steaming crabs, at which he excelled). Ray was a gifted dancer, particularly with polka and swing tunes, and it was this talent that led to him meet the woman of his dreams, Ethel Billy. Within days of the first dance, he was talking of marriage, which she initially rebuffed, only later to accept his proposal, which then formed the foundation of a 68-year union.

There is an indomitable entrepreneurial spirit in the members of the Brzuchalski family and, as an entrepreneur in his own right, Ray ran successful construction, bingo, flea market retail, and entertainment venue businesses for six decades, and ultimately led to him having a tool room that would make Home Depot proud. As a younger man, he relished summer weekend family gatherings in shore homes on the Byrd River, Sue Creek and Ft. Howard. Spending time at the shore is where his love of the water began. It did not take long before he and Ethel purchased a vacation home near the Chester River on Kent Island that they visited on the weekends. Ray had long dreamed of having a waterfront home, and he found the property of his dreams at Fair Prospect Farm on Cox Creek on Kent Island. He and Ethel built and made their home of almost 30 years on this 33-acre farm in Stevensville, MD. Fair Prospect Farm became a mecca for family and virtually countless friends, perhaps best remembered for the annual Barn Party blow out fueled by live music, dancing, steamed crabs (using Ray's secret crab seasoning recipe which he correctly claimed is among the very best), grilled meats, ample libations and laughter and way too much fun. Boating, fishing, crabbing and the making of family memories were always top of mind with Ray and Ethel, and making others feel welcome in their home came naturally to them. Ray will be remembered for his straight talk, his aridly dry sense of humor, his playful and sometimes devilish spirit, his situational awareness, his natural curiosity of how things work, and his tough exterior graced with a gentle spirit within.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or any preferred charity. https://donate3.cancer.org/?campaign=default&lang=en&_ga=2.129913615.223880427.1675703494-1074948383.1675703492