Ramon B. Mentor Jr.

Ramon B. Mentor Jr. 92, of East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully with his loving wife Jean Alice (Wright) Mentor by his side. He was born to the late Ramon and Mary Grace (Reilly) Mentor on May 26, 1926 in Holyoke, MA. Ramon graduated from Classical High School in 1943 and received his BA from American International College in 1950.

Ramon served in the U.S. Navy as a signalman on ships including the USS North Carolina (BB 55), the USS Aquilla (AK 47), and the USS Coolbaugh (DE 217), and was honorably discharged in 1946.

Ramon spent a life in banking. He attended the Commercial Credit School of Finance in Baltimore, MD, and the Rutgers University Stonier Graduate School of Banking. He began his career at Commercial Credit as District Sales Representative, and then at Union Trust; he worked briefly for United Aircraft as an auditor, and then joined the Third National Bank of Hampden County in 1955. He stayed with this bank for 35 years, ending his career as Senior Vice President for The Bank of New England.

He taught banking at a number of institutions, including the Williams College School of Banking and Holyoke Community College. He also gave lectures and served on panels for the American Banking Association, the Massachusetts Bankers Association, and other groups.

Ramon devoted his life to giving back to his college and his community. For many years, he served as Treasurer of American International College, was an Incorporator and Trustee of the college, helped with their Long-Range Planning Committee, was President of the Alumni Association, and Director of the Alumni fund. He served as chair of the Credit Bureau of Western Massachusetts and the Pioneer Valley Consumer Credit Counselling Service, was president of the New England Association of Sales Finance Companies and served on the Twin Hills Country Club board of directors. For several years, he hosted the National Basketball Hall of Fame’s annual Awards Dinner and Golf Tournament, where he met many of the most famous figures in basketball.

Ramon is survived by his loving wife Jean Alice (Wright) Mentor, of Springfield; by his six children Steven, William, Peter, Lisa, Ramon III, and Patricia; and by his five grandchildren Madalyn Mentor, Bailey Mentor, Laurel Mentor, Alice Jacobs, and Linden Mentor. He is also survived by his sister Joan Bouchard.

A celebration of Ramon’s life will begin with visiting hours on Monday, November 19, 2018 from 4:00-7:00pm at Forastiere Smith Funeral & Cremation on 220 North Main Street in East Longmeadow. The funeral will be on Tuesday, November 20th 8:45am at the funeral home, with a Liturgy of Christian Burial at 10:00am in St. Michael’s Church, and burial will following in St. Michael’s Cemetery in Springfield. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Perkins School for the Blind at perkins.org. For more information or to share a memory, please visit www.forastiere.com.