Raoul Ceja Obituary
Raoul "Tony" Ceja, 90, a life-long Lorain resident, passed away peacefully Thursday, September 11, 2025, following a brief illness.
Born May 13, 1935, Tony graduated from Saint Mary's High School in 1953 and worked in construction until he was drafted into the Army. He served active duty from 1958-1960, including a tour in Germany.
After his military service, he continued to develop skills as a concrete finisher, and a brick mason, launching his own company, Tony Ceja Cement, with his wife, Natalie. A strong union supporter, he took pride in the crew he held together for more than 20 years, which included his son, Tony, his brother, Vic, as well as Gandy, Carlos and Tato until his retirement.
He was an active member of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Roman Catholic Church in Lorain, where he belonged to the Holy Name Society, served on several committees, sang in the choir and helped whenever he was asked. An unofficial member of SS. Peter & Paul Orthodox Church in Lorain, he provided the muscle for kneading pierogi dough and building International Festival floats, always assisting however he could. He, along with other Lorain Hispanic veterans, participated in Oberlin College's Latino Lorain Project ahead of the Lorain Historical Society's "100 years of Latinos in Lorain" exhibit in 2023. Stories about his time in the military are included in a 10-station story walk in Oakwood Park in Lorain.
Above all else, Tony adored his family and treasured spending time with them. He attended countless Whittier and Southview events for his kids and grandkids, happily tolerated his sons' basement band rehearsals, sat through all of his daughter's ballet recitals and hosted every family holiday.
From the 1970s until today, the Cejas opened their home to generations of family and friends. His children loved that their friends could come to the Ceja house when they couldn't go home, were bleeding, needed bail money or were just bored. Tony and Natalie offered them an open ear, an open heart and an open fridge. Tony will be greatly missed by his family, his friends, the churches he served and the neighborhood cats, squirrels, birds, dogs and chickens he fed. He is truly irreplaceable.
He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Natalie (nee Kostelny); daughter, Donae Ceja (Bill Fairweather) of Akron; sons Aaron "Tony" Ceja (Cherie) of Lorain, and Christopher Ceja (Kimberly) of LaGrange; grandchildren, Aaron Ceja of Athens, Ohio, Ashley Speidel (Zachary) of Lorain and Joella Dunn-Bernstein (Robby) of Los Angeles; step-grandchildren Carson Denman and Kassandra Pincura of Lorain; great-grandchildren, Lincoln, River and Ronan; his sister, Anita Garcia of Lorain; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his brother, Victor, in April of this year; parents, Victor Sr. and Candelaria (nee Maciel) Ceja; sister, Angelina Garcia; and half-siblings, Sally, Josephine, Louisa, Raymond and Salvador.
Friends may call on Tuesday, September 16 from 10 a.m. until the time of funeral mass at 1p.m. at St. Frances Xavier Cabrini Roman Catholic Church, 2143 Homewood Drive, Lorain, Rev. Father Neil Walters officiating. Military burial will be private at a later time.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in his memory to the Friendship Animal Protective League, 8303 Murray Ridge Rd., Elyria, OH 44035 or online at http://www.friendshipapl.org.
The family would like to thank the team at the Ames Family Hospice House at the Hospice of the Western Reserve in Westlake for providing Tony with compassionate care in his final days.
