In Memory

Ray Von Neida - Class Of 1969

Ray Von Neida

Former Durango resident Ray Von Neida died of a heart attack June 25, 2011, at his home in Paso Robles, California.  He was 60. 

Ray was born to Robert and Doris Von Neida on December 6, 1950, in Long Beach, California.  He graduated from South Pasadena High School in 1969 and as a teen, he loved to surf the California coast.  In the early 1970s, Ray moved to Durango, Colorado, where he worked for Red Barn Lumber and then People's Naural Gas for several years.

Ray had always loved the ocean.  In the 1980s he moved to the North Shore of Oahu, working as a pipefitter for the Navy at Pearl Harbor.  He married Jan Tankersley and the couple later moved to Rangely, where Ray worked for the town for many years.  Ray and Jan later divorced.

In 1989, Ray moved to Alaska to live with his sister Amy, returning to Durango in the early 1990s.  In 1995, he moved to Paso Robles to help his mother care for his stepfather, Bill Thompson.  After purchasing a condemned house there, Ray spent the next 15 years rebuilding the home.  Most recently, he was employed by Zurn Wilkinson Machinery until he was injured in a workplace accident. 

Ray was a 'good guy' and wherever he went, people loved him.  He is survived by his sister, Amy Jo Von Neida (SPHS '67) of Paso Robles; and former wife, Jan Tankersley, of Durango.

The Durango Herald, September 29, 2011



 
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04/16/12 05:53 PM #1    

Tim Vincent Stimpfel (1969)

Ray was one of my closest friends from 8th through 10th grade.  We shared many days out on the asphalt courts playing hoop -- I'll never forget the day when we took on Scott Jacobsen & Carl Skidmore out on those courts and actually beat them in a 2-on-2 game -- perhaps no big thing to Scott & Carl, but to some lowly 10th graders it was big!  Or the day Ray rode in on his unicycle ... he was just that cool.  I would of loved to have known him after SPHS but I definitely lost contact with him.  Besides the cool friendship we had, we also shared the same b-day.

I was shocked to see his name "In Memoriam" in the Grand Reunion IV booklet.  R.I.P. Ray Von Neida, you were a great friend and thanks for the many memories that I still hold to this day.


06/04/18 05:13 AM #2    

George Keith Ainsworth (1968)

I spent a couple of weeks with Ray and John Odell in Durango in the 70's . Ray was a hard working and skilled craftsman, We had a great time chasing coeds from Fort Lewis College and exploring the moutains. I'm a little schocked that such  a fun loving, full of life soul could ever die. Good bye old friend.


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