Raymond Bernard Carey

Raymond Bernard Carey

LOCUST - On Sept. 22, 2020, Raymond Bernard Carey, businessman, writer, democratic capitalist, sportsman, master raconteur, husband to Dennice, father of 3, and grandfather of 6, passed away at the age of 93.

Born in Gardner, MA, at 17 he joined the Navy. He graduated from Holy Cross College and Harvard Business School thanks to the GI Bill, and was named to Alpha Sigma Nu, a society dedicated to the Jesuit virtues of scholarship, loyalty, leadership, and service.

A business leader, he ultimately became the president and CEO of ADT, where he developed and applied his beliefs about democratic capitalism and the power of profit-sharing and employee ownership. Ray retired from ADT in 1988, and began a second career centered on promoting better understanding of these principles. He created the Raymond B. Carey Foundation, named after his father, which later evolved into the Carey Center for Democratic Capitalism. He also founded the Carey Scholars Program that provided stipends, books, and economic education to high school students.

He was the author of "Democratic Capitalism: The Way to a World of Peace and Plenty," developed a curriculum with faculty at Rutgers, and connected with economic scholars around the world. He was particularly proud that his work was favorably received by both conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats.

For all of his business success, the center of his existence was his wife, Dennice, with lifelong themes of overly friendly dogs and living in beautiful, sometimes isolated, places. For 50 years, their home base was a farmhouse in Locust, NJ, with spring and part of the summer in Sun Valley, ID, the remainder of the summer and fall on Nantucket.

His discipline was legendary. Even after retirement he would read and write from 6 a.m. to noon every day. Afternoons were dedicated to Dennice, dogs, sunsets, sports, bonfires and entertaining. Ray loved to sail, play tennis, ski, and golf, and had many like-minded friends at their clubs over the years — Rumson Country Club, Seabright Beach Club, Seabright Lawn Tennis and Cricket Club, Sankaty Golf Club, Nantucket Yacht Club and The Valley Club.

A fierce competitor, Ray raced sailboats his whole life, and had a series of boats, all named Wisper, that let him cruise, race, and tell the stories that attend life on (or near) the sea.

Ray was preceded in death by his wife and life partner of 67 years, Dennice, his sister, Ann Dougherty, and his grandson Jenner Carey Bryan. He is survived by his daughter Sheila Carey Bryan, daughter Lisa Carey and son-in-law Matt Ewend, son Michael and daughter-in-law Kristen Carey and grandchildren Nash, Kelly and Abby Carey-Ewend and Patrick and Adam Carey, as well as multiple wonderful family members.

The funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26 at Holy Cross Church, 30 Ward Avenue, Rumson, NJ. The Mass will be livestreamed for those wanting to watch from home at http://holycrossrumson.typepad.com (click on the triangle and keep refreshing until goes live).

An outdoor reception of remembrance will follow at the Carey home, 34 Browns Dock Road. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that memorial donations be made to the Rutgers University Foundation in support of the Ray Carey Fellowship in Democratic Capitalism at the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing, P.O. Box 193, New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0193, or online at give.rutgers.edu/careyfellowship.

Thompson Memorial Home of Red Bank, NJ has been entrusted with the arrangements.