About Ray

After high school, Raymond attended Marion Military Institute to become an officer in the army. He finished his degree at Eastern Illinois University. After graduating, Ray served in the army for eight years. During that time, he was promoted to captain in the 10th Mountain Infantry Division, achieved many accomplishments, and was awarded numerous medals, such as the Bronze Star. When he came home from his deployments overseas, Ray's sense of adventure took hold and he moved to Arizona where he got a job at the Grand Canyon, while there, he hiked the Canyon from rim to rim to rim. Ray always valued school and education and decided to go back to college to study pre-med at Northwestern University. He went to work at Advocate Christ Hospital in the Adult Surgical Intensive Care unit caring for cardiac patients. Then the adventure bug struck again and he moved to Colorado and joined the crew at REI. 

Ray was the oldest of 5 kids and the uncle to 7 nieces and nephews. He loved his family and never missed a birthday, whether that was in person or by sending a card. Ray always celebrated your accomplishments and was as excited for them as you were.

On February 18, 2020, Ray lost his battle with post traumatic stress disorder. Ray has left, but with this scholarship, he will now continue to leave a lasting and valuable impact on the Oak Lawn Theatre and Speech programs and the lives of its students.

Aaron, the painter of the image above, only knew Ray for a few weeks before he passed; he said "I painted this because I couldn't imagine the world without Ray's smile."