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James Raybon’s family drove down Hamlin Court waving at a line of almost 100 UPS trucks that showed up to pay their respects to their late coworker and friend on Tuesday. The 20-plus-year delivery truck driver’s coworkers lined their parked trucks along the Sunnyvale road where Raybon’s family was staying to attend the memorial service in Palo Alto. James Raybon is survived by: His wife Tonya and their four sons, Brandon, Devin, Jacob and Matthew.
Raybon died May 9 following a knee replacement surgery, which he waited to receive throughout the coronavirus pandemic because of a statewide hold on elective surgeries enacted to prevent the healthcare system from being overwhelmed as the respiratory illness spread this spring. He took time off work before the surgery, needed after an injury, and had recently moved with his family from Sunnyvale to Tracy to rent a house, according to a family friend.
Lisa Marie Wong, a friend of Raybon’s wife Tonya, organized a Gofundme to raise money for funeral and memorial costs:
“James touched the lives of so many. He brightened many of our days by delivering packages with a smile and a conversation. To some he was a friend, but to Tonya and their four sons, he was their world. The love between Tonya and James was beyond evident, and the pride he had in his four children was uncontainable. James delivered packages in Sunnyvale for many years. I’m sure almost everyone on his route has a story of how he went above and beyond as a delivery person, learned our children and/or spouse’s names, and made us feel special, like he was stopping by to say hello and just happened to also have a package to deliver.”
Raybon was laid to rest on May 26th at Alta Mesa Memorial Park in Palo Alto, CA. He was considered a “gentle giant” says his friend Michael Smith. ” He will be missed” says Smith, “gone too soon”. The $38,000 raised to date will go to his wife Tonya, according to the family’s page on the fundraising site.
