Vincent Martin Raimond

Vincent Martin Raimond, who died on August 12, enjoyed a wonderful life fulfilled by a successful engineering career, a great family, world travel, and involvement in the arts. Born in Boston, MA, to Pietro Raimondi and Giussepina Barrasso in 1922, he grew up in The Bronx, NY, with his adoptive mother, Romilda Avitabile Delfini. His first career was working for the sailboat design company Sparkman & Stephens. After his service in WW II, as a cadet in the Army Air Force, he attended the University of Alaska on the G.I. Bill, graduating in 1952. At the end of his stay in Alaska, after having started his own construction company there and accomplishing several building projects, he returned to New York City and his old job with Sparkman & Stephens Naval Architects. This led to participation in a special sub-contract at Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, to establish a towing tank to test model vehicles. It was there that he met Clifford Nuttall and they, along with Bill Wilson, formed a partnership to create a research and development company which specialized in designing off-road vehicles. They established the company in Kent County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, a place chosen for its charm and beauty, yet not far from the major urban and military centers of the East Coast. During the hay-day (1954-1966) of Wilson, Nuttall, Raimond Engineering, Inc.(WNRE), Vincent traveled to exotic places for testing these vehicles, Greenland and the polar regions, Thailand and southeast Asia, Costa Rica, Panama, and other Central American countries and all around the States. The U. S. Department of Defense was their main client. In 1958, Vincent established, and was president of, a second company, Ambulitter Corporation, which still exists today. It was formed to manufacture the off road vehicles whose designs they held with proprietary patents. These vehicles were built for Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Imperial Oil of Canada, Gulf Oil, and the U.S. Army Transportation Corp, among others. At the demise of WNRE, Inc. in the mid-‘60’s, Vincent turned to another profession, forming a real estate brokerage with an emphasis on property investment and management. He also began collecting 18th century houses and other examples of vernacular architecture, moving them onto his estate and creating a dwelling and out-buildings from these treasures (which were destined to be bull-dozed or burned.) Also, during this time, his life-long love and appreciation for the arts found an outlet as he became the Executive Director of Kent County Arts Council just as Maryland and the rest of the nation were beginning to see the arts as an economic engine as well as a necessity to enrich the quality of life, with support to local arts agencies throughout the state. In addition to encouraging individuals and groups to participate in the arts, he founded a long-lived and successful community theatre organization, A.C.T. Vincent has a large family whose members participate in the arts and construction projects that are ever present. With his first wife, Josephine Free Raimond, he had Laurence, Jennifer Roberts, and Martin. From his second marriage to Leslie Prince Raimond, he had Morgan, Francesca and Daniel. His grandchildren are Heath, Vincent, Austin, Evan, Alyson, Camila, Italia “Tia” and Holiday; and great grandchildren, Shane and Kaylee. He was predeceased by members of his Raimondi family, Angelina, Maruo, Anne, Rose, Peter, Albert, John, Joe, and Virginia, and is survived by Margaret “Margie” and Richard “Richie.” A celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, April 11, 2015, at 2 p.m. at Toad Hall, 12273 Still Pond Creek Road, Worton, MD.

Vincent Martin Raimond

June 20, 1922 - August 12, 2014