Hello Janice,

I am sorry I was unable to attend the service. Our thoughts go out to you and the family. I learned a great deal from Ray during my time working with him and even more from him during the beer we would have after work. Ray was a man of character that always treated people the right way. I could never understand why he cheered for the Raiders but loved our annual bet as to whether the Rams or Raiders would be worse. I still talk often about the laughs we shared at Office Depot and regret not staying more in touch after our days there.

Paul and Sue Lehmann

Ray will be missed. His endless enthusiasm, his bottomless curiosity, his superb sense of humor, his remarkable command of the Monty Python literature!

He energized the world until disease took so much of his energy. Even then, he energized a smaller world, and I'm so glad that world included us. We are the richer for it, very much the richer.

I enjoyed him, I liked him, and although I probably never told him this, I admired him. I still do.

Thank you, Ray.

This is very sad news to hear about Ray's passing. I came to Calgary in 1998 after being transferred from Ontario. We worked for Office Depot back then.......Ray and I became quick friends. I have fond memories of chatting about sports (I was a Red Wing Fan, Ray a hardened Habs fan). We would debate talent and trades. We often made friendly wagers on games between our teams. Luckily for me, the Wings were quite formidable back then.....settling the debt was far more fun than making the wager.

Each year we had a golf retreat with mutual friends at Kananaskis. Ray was the primary planner and developer of great ideas. What wonderful memories those are. Ray was a wonderful guy, and a great friend during my time in Alberta.

Janice we only met a handful of times, and I can only imagine the sorrow you must feel these days. I hope you can find some peace in the legacy he left, and from the fond memories we all have of Ray.

Sincere condolences,

Jeff Crump & Family

Ray was a good friend for 40 years. He was always honest and spoke the truth. We had many interesting and intelligent conversations. I will miss him, his humour, honesty and his caring.

Ian Routledge

Every year, at the end of June, a group of friends gathered to celebrate St. Jean Baptiste Day by playing golf. (Their wives celebrated by shopping and eating lunch together.) Ray was one of the instigators of these festivities.

One year, Ian and I pulled into the parking area of the rented facilities to find Ray, Janice, Jope, Karen, Jim and Paulette already partying. When they came out to greet us, Ray noticed a box of Co-op Facial Tissues in our car. (He, at that time, worked for Royale.) Without saying a word, Ray opened our car door, took out the box of tissues, and put it behind the rear wheel of his car. He then proceeded to drive back and forth over the tissues until they were well destroyed. Ray opened the trunk of his car and got out a box of Royale Tissues, saying to us “From now on, buy Royale!”

Ray had a wicked sense of humour! It’s one of the things I loved about him.

Janice Routledge