James Raff; World War II Veteran, Volunteer
World War II veteran James Raff of Ventura died Sunday after a brief illness. He was 76.
Raff was born in Zmigrod Nowy, Poland, to Yetta Meisner and Wolf Raff, and grew up in New York City.
He served in the Army during World War II and was an active member of the Jewish War Veterans Post 101 in Ventura. He took an active role in the annual collection and distribution of clothing to homeless veterans.
Raff served as a volunteer coordinator for the Ventura Police Department storefront downtown and was a member of Temple Beth Torah, where he participated in the men’s club and weekly Saturday morning services.
Raff is survived by two daughters: Deborah Raff of Palm Springs and Nedda Hartenstein of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
Graveside services will be held at 1 p.m. today at Eden Memorial Park in Mission Hills. Memorial services will be held at 7 p.m. Sunday at Temple Beth Torah in Ventura.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that friends honor Raff with a memorial donation to their favorite charity.
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