Raymond Joseph Reis Sr.

Raymond Joseph Reis, Sr. (Ray) was the third of nine sons born to German Russian Ukrainian immigrants Michael Reis and Eva (Burkhard) Reis. He was born on March 26, 1927, and died on January 24, 2026, at the age of 98.

Many of the Germans who came to the US from farms were sent to North Dakota to farm, where the land and climate were similar. His parents relocated to Aberdeen, South Dakota, and started their family.

The Germans were insular and lived together and spoke mainly German. So Ray did not learn English until he started Catholic school at 6 years old. He was a very bright boy, who would proudly announce later in life he was a member of Mensa.

At age 18, he enlisted in the Navy and served in WWII after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After he mustered out, he took advantage of his Veteran's benefits and got his AA degree.

He worked in a body shop, rode Harley Davidson motorcycles, and began dating Esther M. Mullally.

They married and started their family.

After about three years, they packed up their belongings and two young children, and moved to Seattle so Ray could go to work as a carpenter for Aloysius J. Mullally who was already very successful building hundreds of homes in the West Seattle area for the returning WWII veterans who were marrying and starting families at a furious rate (the so-called "baby boom").

They joined Holy Family Parish in 1952, and along with the Mullally, Burns, Nitkey, McQuaid, Feeney, Sibbel, and other families named on the back wall of the Church, helped Monsignor McGrath build Holy Family Church in White Center.

Ray and Esther had 5 children over 22 years who survived: Carolyn J.(Terry) (Reis)Gallagher; William M. Reis(Bill); Raymond J. Reis, Jr. (Ray); Thomas P. Reis (Tom); and Michael A. Reis. Terry and Bill attended Holy Family school with their cousins and friends.

When Holy Family split due to its rapid growth, the Reis family ended up in St. Bernadette's Parish for about 8 years before moving back into the Parish again in 1968.

Ray and Esther divorced in the 1980's. Neither ever remarried.

Ray's hobbies and work as a contractor/builder kept him busy.

He was a competitive dancer in the West Coast Swing club and stayed in shape by dancing 6 nights per week.

He was an avid antique car collector, owning the two rarest DeSotos in the world. Hemmings Motor News gave him the title "Mr. DeSoto". He often referred to his cars as his "children" and entered them in classic car shows around the Northwest.

A local television news station did a profile of him with his cars at Alki Beach.

He had a great vocabulary and even created crossword puzzles for The Seattle Times.

Ray outlived all of his brothers and their widows, his ex-wife Esther, and all his friends. He is survived by his five children mentioned above and their partners/spouses. He is also survived by five grandchildren:Heather L. (Reis) Fike; Emily S. (Reis) Abrams; Rachael L. Reis; James Reis; and William M. Reis, Jr.