Carmen Ray Johnson was born on September 24,1946 to Carmen and Dolores Johnson in Salina, KS.
Ray had a zest for life. He was an innovator, an inventor, always testing, experimenting and designing. After attending GM Institute in Michigan and graduating from the University of North Dakota with a degree in Electrical Engineering, he worked for several companies as a design engineer, including Data One Hundred Corp, IBM and Quantum. Ray worked many projects as a test engineer, supervising, development, and design, but his favorite project was working on the prototype of the first GPS system.
Ray had numerous interests, including a love of music. He taught himself banjo, fiddle and bass, even making some of his own instruments. He found much joy in playing in local bluegrass bands. He was Vice President of his HAMM Radio club for many years, interacting with people all over the world.
He loved animals, and found many creative ways to feed his squirrels and entertain his dogs and cats.
Ray is survived by his siblings Janis Siemers, Carol Hocking, Mary Millward, Tom Johnson, Lisa Baker, Nancy Williams and Bill Johnson. He will be dearly missed.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings Chris Johnson, Sarah Churm, Ben Johnson, and dear friend, Deanna Burgess.
The family will be holding a private memorial service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to your favorite charity.
Ray often wrote his thoughts in a notebook he kept nearby. One of his most recent was, “Eternity is a long time. Common sense and reason are not enough to come to faith in Christ. If you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth, you will be saved.”
