81, died Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007.
Ray was born in Duluth April 27, 1926, to Erick and Amalia Larson and raised in South Range.
He proudly served in the U.S. Army from July 1944 to August 1946, including service in Italy during World War II. On July 17, 1948, Ray married Joyce Marie Jensen. This past July, they celebrated 59 years of marriage, at which time Ray still considered himself "the luckiest guy in the world to have her for his wife."
Ray attended Superior Vocational School for refrigeration service. He worked 40 years for National Temperature Control Center, formerly Refrigeration Wholesalers, in Duluth.
Ray was a member of Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Superior. He also was a member of various organizations during his lifetime, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 137 in Duluth, American Legion Post 0071 in Duluth, Douglas County Fish and Game League, Nemadji Over-The-Hill Golf Group and Optimist Club. Ray was known as a kind and gentle man with a deep love and affection for his family.
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In addition to his wife, Joyce, Ray is survived by his daughter, Jane Tempelis, and sons, John (Nancy) and Brian Larson; five grandchildren, Melinda Tempelis, Eric (Jenny) Tempelis, Peter (Anne) Tempelis, Michaela (David) Ward and Andrew Larson. He is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, and their children, as well as his faithful dog, Maxine.
Ray was preceded in death by his parents, nine siblings and their spouses, Margaret (Floyd) Lundstrom, Jenny (Jaron) Lundstrom, Morris (Kitty) Larson, Evort (Gladys) Larson, Catherine (Clifford) Granquist, Walter (Betty) Larson, Dorothy Larson, June (Earl) Jackson, Betty (Harry) Hartlund, and son-in-law, Dr. Larry Tempelis.
Visitation and services will be held Saturday at Our Savior's Lutheran Church, 1924 Wyoming Ave. in Superior. Visitation begins at 12:30 p.m. with the service to follow at 1:30 p.m. Interment will be at Greenwood Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Our Savior's Lutheran Church Building Fund. The family would like to extend their gratitude to the kind and caring staff at Villa-Marina Health and Rehabilitation Center in Superior for the care they provided Ray during his stay there.
