Ramon (Ray) Anzaldua, age 81, went to his eternal home with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on Thursday December 16, 2021.

A beloved husband, father, brother and friend, Ray is survived by his wife, Francoise, his son Jeffrey Anzaldua and wife Tonya and their three children, Daniel, Christen and Joshua, his daughter Debra Anzaldua Benish and husband, Allen, his daughter Victoria Anzaldua and her son, Alexander, his stepdaughter Joanne Avalos and husband George and their daughter Addison.

Ray was preceded in death by his father Jose Anzaldua and his mother Lina Anzaldua, his brother Joe, sisters Celia and Sophie, and baby brother Ruben.

Ray was born in Refugio, TX on Thanksgiving Day to Jose and Lina Anzaldua on November 28, 1940. He was the seventh of eleven children. He started school in Refugio, TX, but the family moved to Corpus Christi, then to Bloomington, TX, where he attended until the Tenth grade. While growing up in Texas, he occasionally picked cotton with his family during the summer. He was fifteen when the family moved to Potterville, MI. Ray graduated first of his class in May 1959. He had offers to attend Michigan State University or General Motors Institute but enlisted in the United States Air Force in August 1960 for 4 years. He attended the Air Force Intelligence School at Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls for 19 weeks of training and was assigned to the 8th Reconnaissance Squadron at Westover AFB, Massachusetts until his discharge in August 1964.

He returned to Lansing, MI where he went to work on the production line on the factory floor of the Oldsmobile Main plant. He worked production operations for 8 months, when he took an opening in the 4-year Tool Maker Apprentice program in 1965. He graduated with a Certificate of Journeyman as a Tool Maker. Not satisfied, he applied and was accepted for another 4-year apprenticeship as a Tool Designer and graduated in 1969 as a Journeyman Designer/Draftsman. Having all these college credits, he continued at Detroit Institute of Technology where he graduated with a BSIT in Industrial Technology. He was promoted to the salaried workforce as a Production Engineer. He progressed to Manufacturing Engineer. While there, he joined the Lansing Metropolitan Flying Club and earned his Private Pilot license. He was promoted to Senior Manufacturing Engineer. During this time, he was assigned to help design and build an engine plant in Saltillo, MX for 6 months. He came back to Lansing where he was given the job of Program Manager for the Buick 3800 V6 engine and then the Cadillac NorthStar V8 for the Cadillac cars, and then transferred to a Border Plant and finally promoted to General Supervisor of Industrial Engineering in a GM RIMER Border Plant in Matamoros, MX, where he took an offered early retirement at the age of 52 in December 1992.

After his retirement, Ray worked for several years for Boeing Rocketdyne, in California, as Manufacturing Engineer in the division responsible for the rockets used by the Space Shuttle. He finally moved back to Texas in 2006, where he spent several years running the Best Robotics program in the Rio Grande Valley. He used to say that this job was too much fun, as he delighted to inspire young minds and develop their interest in technology.
Ray joined Kerrville Bible Church in 2013 and served in choir and on the Missions Board. He loved the church and enjoyed studying the Word of God, both in Sunday School and with a group of men during the week. He will be missed by all who knew him and loved him.

A Memorial Service will be held on Tuesday January 4th at 11:00 am at Kerrville Bible Church.

The family wishes to extend our sincere thanks to Dr. Singh, Oncologist and to the personnel of Texas Oncology, Kerrville, as well as Peterson Hospice. We also thank the many doctors at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, AZ who spent 18 days to diagnose Ray's cancer.

Sign Guestbook>>

2 Condolence(s)