- Date Of Birth: March 15, 1932
- Date Of Death: June 6, 2019
- State: Texas
Raymond Enriquez Vielma, or “Brother Ray” passed away peacefully on Thursday, June 6, 2019 at the age of 87, surrounded by his loving family and friends. He lived a “tremendous” life full of joy. He was born on March 15, 1932 as the youngest child to Tomas and Valentina Vielma in Dallas and grew up in “Little Mexico.” He started his sales career early, selling fresh vegetables door to door as a child and even claimed to be a boxer although he later admitted he only boxed onions, lettuce, and other vegetables. He attended Cumberland Hill Elementary School and graduated from Crozier Tech High School. His passion was entertaining people; he would emcee dances, quinceañeras, and awards presentations. It was at a Black and White Gala that he met his future wife Sulema Benavides. They married in 1963 and together raised 4 children and 10 grandchildren. It was always faith, family and friends that were the pillars of his life.
Ray never sat idle and was considered to be a man of many talents. In addition to working for more than 30 years at the USPS, he was active in his community – serving as an officer with the Cumberland Hill Alumni Association, President of the Dallas Lions Club, and President of the Dallas LULAC local chapter. He was also a radio broadcaster hosting “La Hora Panamericana” on KTER, becoming one of the first bilingual on-air radio hosts.
For over 30 years, he was an active member of the Emanu-El United Methodist Church community and was honored to be part of the Methodist Men’s group.
In his later widower years, he moved to Plano to be near his children and was remarried to Frances Musquiz. Over the past few years, his newest family members began to include the caring dialysis team at Fresenius in West Plano, the loving staff and residents at Cariad Village Creek and the welcoming community at Prince of Peace Catholic Church. The family wishes to acknowledge and thank all who crossed Ray’s path on his extraordinary journey through life.
Raymond is survived by innumerable nieces, nephews and primos in the A-Z Enriquez family as well as his daughter, Tina Marie -husband Philip Morales; his 3 sons, Thomas -wife Rosalind, Carlos, and John Paul -wife Sue, daughter in laws Michelle Vielma and Anita Taylor, and his 10 grandchildren Celeste, Christa, Christian, Cameron, Sarah, Sam, Emma, Jacob, Jessica and Jackson and great grand-daughter Haven.
