11/26/2025
REMEMBERING DEAR FRIEND RAY BOISSONEAU
Ray Boissoneau was a significant contributor to the operations of the New England Racing Museum from construction planning to his death on October 28, 2025. Ray passed on at age 87. He lived most of his life in New Hampshire.
He was an admirably successful businessman who built a giant printed circuit business with operations in New Hampshire, Canada, and the United Kingdom. His success with that company, along with his profound knowledge of vintage auto racing, led Ray to assemble an impressive collection of racing cars from the 1940s and beyond. The collection includes cars that raced in the Indianapolis 500, local speedways, and far-away places. Ray didn’t just collect racing cars — he drove them to victory in vintage races.
Some of the collection was housed in one of his industrial buildings in Concord, NH. He recently brought the racing cars together with his collections of early toys, model cars, diecast cars, and old street cars, with a particular focus on European makes and significant rare posters and signs. The result was Autopac Gallery. The facility is used for events as well as viewing Ray’s displays. The collection is one of the most significant assemblies of historically important racing cars in the Northeast.
As digital circuitry replaced printed circuits, Ray spent more of his time enjoying vintage racing and the collection of artifacts begun when he was a kid. He played a big role in the years of an annual event, the New England Vintage Celebration, which took place at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. When a day of on-track time was over, Ray hosted a party at his car collection. There was always a big crowd who enjoyed plenty of food, friendship, live music, laughter, and friendly arguments about how fast each driver had gone in the afternoon.
Ray pulled it all together when he opened the Autopac Gallery in one of his former factories in Laconia. All of the cars, vintage artifacts, photographs, one-of-a-kind outdoor signs that once stood out front of tracks that ran races for huge crowds, and printed matter were in one place for the first time. Autopac Gallery is expected to continue with son Troy and daughters Michelle and Wendy playing major roles in its operations.
Ray Boissoneau helped guide the growth of the New England Racing Museum in Loudon, NH, taking it from dream to reality. Until his final weeks, Ray Boissoneau was on board to help steer the direction of the museum’s events, collections, and exhibits. He was on the Board of Directors for 13 years, offering welcome advice which helped put the museum on solid financial ground. Open year-round, it has been enjoyed by thousands of guests. Ray was a profoundly significant contributor to this museum, which exclusively captures the history of motor racing in New England. Given his contributions to these two racing museums puts Ray in a singular position as a leader in preserving motor racing history.
All who knew Ray Boissoneau enjoyed his company, his warm laughter, and his passion for family and friends.
https://www.rivetfuneralhome.com/obituary/raymond-boissoneau
