Raymond Emanuel Grella was born October 16 th , 1961 to Emanuel Frank Grella and Ursula Grella (née Burger) in Brooklyn, New York and passed away on September 17 th , 2016.

Ray grew up in Brooklyn with his older brother Werner surrounded by their many cousins and often took trips to Germany to visit his mother's family. Family was always of the utmost importance to Ray and he remained close to his brother and parents throughout his life.

After leaving New York to attend college in Utah, Ray was offered a job as an engineer with Boeing and moved to Seattle to begin his career. It was at Boeing, on the project for the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber, that he met Nancy Raymond, the love of his life. Ray and Nancy were married on March 26 th , 1988 in Seattle, Washington. The couple soon welcomed their first child, Angela Michelle, into the world on July 5 th , 1989 and their second child, Nichole Rae, on April 21 st , 1991, their third child and only son, Emanuel Raymond, was born on May 4 th , 1996. In 2001 Ray was offered a position with EDS in Houston and the family moved to Texas.

Ray loved to build and tinker and spent years working with his son, Emanuel, to build a 1976 Plymouth Duster from the ground up. His children will always remember him with a smile on his face, engine grease on his hands and dirty work boots on his feet. Ray had an open heart and was always there for neighbors and friends who needed a helping hand. An avid beer enthusiast, Ray loved to brew beer and mead with his friends and church group.