Ray E. Yeater

Ray Eugene Yeater (also known as ‘Gene’) passed away on 20 November 2019 from natural causes at the age of 94. A member of the ‘greatest generation’, he was born in Warrensburg, Missouri, the eldest of 7 children born to Harry and Rose Yeater. His siblings Raylene, Mary Lou, Marguerite, Ralph, Robert and Harry Jr. (who died as an infant) predeceased him.

His family moved to Kansas City, Missouri when he was a child and he spent the rest of his formative years there. He began working when he was quite young (e.g. as a paper boy and at Swope Park), but nevertheless graduated from Northeast High School and shortly thereafter enlisted in the Navy. While in junior college, he met the love of his life, Gloriss, whom he married two years after returning home from service in WWII. He courted her with ice cream from Feinbergs and they celebrated their 71st wedding anniversary in the Kansas City area on 18 October 2019.

After graduating first in his class of Naval medical corpsmen in San Diego, California, he was assigned to the Pacific theater during World War II and served there from 1943 to 1946. Like many servicemen of his generation, he did not speak much about his war experiences after being honorably discharged and returning to the United States. He nevertheless appreciated the recognition given to members of the military who served during such a significant time period.

With support provided under the GI Bill, he entered university in 1948. The same year, he married Gloriss, and she worked at Macy’s department store to help support both of them. He graduated from the University of Kansas City with a Bachelor of Arts degree (biology and chemistry) in 1952.

He considered entering medical school, but changed his plans when Gloriss became pregnant with their first child in 1953. Instead, he obtained a general sales position in St. Louis, Missouri with the Upjohn Pharmaceutical Company, for whom he worked the next 33 years. While in St. Louis, he and Gloriss had one daughter (Marceil) and two sons (Mark and Bruce).

He was promoted to District Manager and transferred back to Kansas City, Missouri in 1963. Five years later, he was promoted to Clinical Research Associate and transferred to Cleveland, Ohio (North Olmsted). Some years later, he was promoted to Medical Sciences Liaison in Education and Infectious Diseases and transferred to Ann Arbor, Michigan. It was here that he and Gloriss took up the sport of golf, which was one of their shared passions for many years.

Following his retirement from the Upjohn Company in 1985, Ray and Gloriss moved to a golf and tennis resort in Destin, Florida, where they had previously invested in a rental property. About twelve years later, concerned about the rapid growth in Destin, they moved to San Antonio, Texas, where they thoroughly enjoyed the cultural diversity and Southwestern climate. Recognizing their need for additional family and other support in their late 80s, Ray and Gloriss returned to the Kansas City area in 2015 – specifically, the Brookdale Overland Park 119th independent living facility.

Throughout his life, Ray was extremely keen about travel, music, reading, sports and many other activities which satisfied his interest in and curiosity about new and different experiences. He introduced his wife and children to these many pursuits, which then became lifelong interests of theirs as well. During his life, he and Gloriss traveled to most of the 50 states, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean as well as Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania.

Ray is survived by his wife Gloriss and their children Marceil, Mark (with his wife Delynne and son Griffin) and Bruce (with his wife Andrea) as well as two sisters-in-law and a number of nieces and nephews, many of whom reside in the Kansas City area.