Carroll Reagan "Ray" Dennison

Carroll Reagan "Ray" Dennison died Sunday, April 15, 2012 in Austin, Texas at the age of 75. He was born Fagan Parker January 27, 1937 in Elkhart, Texas to S.B. and Elsie Turner Parker and is descended from Rev. Daniel Parker, an early Texas pioneer. At the age of four, Ray was adopted by Carroll Moore and Bessie Gray Dennison.

Ray served his country as a Medical Materials Specialist in the U.S. Air Force from 1954-1957, and had a life-long love of World War II aircraft.

Ray attended Lee College in Baytown, Lamar State College in Beaumont, The University of Texas at Austin, graduating from Durham College in Houston in intermediate drafting.

Ray had a creative, gregarious personality and was a wordsmith and inventor.

During the 1960s, Ray worked at a number of jobs in Houston that contributed to the U.S. space program, including as a junior draftsman at Welex Inc, project draftsman at Texas Instruments, draftsman at AMF Tuboscope, project engineer at F.H. Maloney Co., and draftsman at Gulf Valve. He also worked as a planner at AMBOX where he developed a welding process for light-gauge sheet metal.

In 1971, Ray moved to Austin and first worked as a home appliance repairman at Wilson Service Co. in Dripping Springs and Oscar Snowden in Austin. He then worked as a cartographer at Aardvark Doglea, and as a mechanical designer at Astro Mechanics. Ray last worked as a technical assistant at UT's Center for Earth Science Engineering before starting his own business, Dennison's Welding and Fabrication.

Ray is survived by his wife of forty years, Sally Kloss Dennison; three children, Irma Caroll Dennison, Andrea Beth Dennison, and Adam Reagan Dennison; and two grandchildren, Andrzej Rzepecki and Natalia Rzepecki. He is also survived by three sisters, Lonez Parker Fox, Sue Chapman Shelley, Karen Wheeler McCutcheon, and a brother, Steve Parker.

Visitation will be held from 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm on Saturday, April 21, 2012 at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 2620 South Congress Avenue. Funeral Service 2:00 pm Sunday, April 22, 2012 at Weed-Corley-Fish Chapel.