Ray Lorenz

Few lives are so richly invested: Ray Lorenz passed away June 24,2012, at his home
on the Lorenz Spur Ranch, North of Hamilton. Ray was born August 16, 1923 in Anaconda, MT, and raised in Opportunity, MT, being the fifth child of Raphael and Leona Madison Lorenz.

He joined the Navy at 17, before the onset of WWII, went to Boot Camp and A 1 Electrical School in San Diego, and was on his way to Pearl Harbor when it was attacked by Japan in December, 1941. He was initially assigned to the submarine base at Pearl, then aboard the submarine tender, USS Pelias, where he served until May of 1945. Before being discharged after the war, Ray was sent to participate in the A-Bomb test at Bikini Atoll, on the USS Nevada. In 1944 he married his home-town sweetheart, Jean Barnett, and returned home to Anaconda, after discharging his duty to the Navy, in time to see his first of four daughters born in August of 1946.

In 1950, Ray relocated his family to Bozeman, where he received his Electrical Engineering degree from Montana State University. After graduation, Ray accepted a position with Honeywell in Minneapolis, then on to Univac, where he contributed to the design of their revolutionary File Computer. His engineering career moved him to Southern California, where he developed state-of-the-art semi-conductor memories for Ampex, and co-founded Data Products Corp, a developer of high-speed computer printers. In 1972 Ray and his wife Jean founded their own company, Spur Products Corporation, which became an international technology business. He retired from Spur Products in 1988, turned the business over to his son-in-law, and in 1990 he and Jean returned to the Bitterroot Valley in their beloved Montana.

Ray is survived by his wife of 67 years, Jean, and their four daughters: Donna Rae Hicks (Dennis) of Hamilton, MT; Carey Caron, Boise, ID; Peggy McDermott (Patrick), Culver City, CA; Debby McDermott (James), Agoura Hills, CA; Brother-in-law, Leo Barnett (Frieda), Hamilton, MT; Twelve grandchildren, and fifteen great-grandchildren, and numerous nephews and nieces.

A memorial service is being planned for friends and family to celebrate Ray's life.