Ray Ellison

Ray Ellison was born July 30, 1917, in Greenville, Texas, and moved to San Antonio as a child. He attended San Antonio Vocational and Techincal School now Fox Tech and was a member of the graduating class of 1936. One of his first jobs in the business world was as an auto machanic. A subsequent job took him to Arizona, where he surveyed highways and received his first taste of land development. He returned to San Antonio, working as an aircraft mechanic and foreman at Kelly Field. It wasn't long after that he went into homebuilding, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Ray Ellison is best known for his contributions to the city's housing industry. What began as a small two-man operation in 1949, building one home at a time, was carefully tended, nurtured, and painstakingly engineered to emerge as San Antonio's largest individually owned homebuilding firm. It is estimated that during his 46 year career, Ray Ellison and his homebuilding operation provided homes for over 50, 000 San Antonio families. In 1996, the homebuilding operation Rayco was sold to national homebuilder, KB Home.

Ray Ellison received numerous prestigious business awards during his impressive career. In 1980, he received the National Builder of the Year Award from Professional Builder Magazine, an award presented annually to the single most outstanding builder in the country, who has exhibited exceptional leadership and professionalism in the housing and light construction industries. He was elected into the National Association of Home Builders Housing Hall of Fame in May 1983 in recognition of 'his outstanding contributions to the cause of decent, affordable housing for all Americans.' Ellison was also cited locally by the Greater San Antonio Builders Association, which bestowed upon him the honor of Builder of the Year in 1984. He was also inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame in 1986, the first San Antonian to be so honored.

Ray Ellison has always displayed a deep seated sense of community pride and dedication to service. The advancement of educational opportunities for San Antonio students was the focus of many of his endeavors. The Junior Achievement Program always held a special place in the heart of Ellison's entire organization, with many managers and department heads actively involved in mentoring local students. In 1981, he was inducted into Junior Achievement's Business Hall of Fame.

He supported higher learning in other ways, as well. In 1977, the City of San Antonio presented Ellison with a special resolution following the gift of a tract of land to be used for the Valley Hi Branch of the San Antonio Public Library. Another local branch, the Leah Carter Johnson Branch Library, also found a new home as a result of a land gift from Ellison in 1982. He contributed the site for the initial Air Force Village retirement complex and made a major gift to establish the Southwest Biotechnology Research Park.

He was the recipient of Boysville's Special Angel Award in 1989, the Texas State Teachers Association's School Bell Award in 1986, and the Texas Classroom Teachers Association's Friend of Education honor in 1967. He is also a 1972 YMCA Century Club Member and received Parents Magazine's Regional Merit Award in both 1961 and 1962 for 'Best Homes for Families with Children.'

Survivors are his son, Ray Ellison, Jr.; daughter, Bonnie Ellison; their mother, Dathyne Ellison; and grandchildren; as well as dedicated caregivers Bruno Alejandro, Juanita Guevara, Esther Martinez, and Dolores Mejia.