April 21, 2022 at 9:15 p.m.
Raymond C. Mayo
Raymond C. Mayo
Growing up in rural South Dakota, his formative years were marked by skipping ahead a year in grade school and working summers with his cousins on the farm. He came from modest means, learned the value of hard work, and made his way in the world. Ray graduated from South Dakota State University with a degree in electrical engineering and spent three years in the US Air Force as a special weapons officer. In addition to earning his degree, he was an active performer in SDSU theater, which influenced his personal life and career path.
Ray was hired by IBM as a computer salesman and spent 20 years with Big Blue in the ‘60s and ‘70s, before venturing out with various software firms, including founding his own mainframe software company Productivity Software, based on its flagship product Data Center Management System. Ray had a sharp mind and a savvy for business. Though he retired at the age of 70, he lamented leaving the business world prematurely. They don’t make them like Ray anymore!
Ray had a talent with words and kept us entertained even as he receded into eternity with his off-beat quips and clever vocabulary. We spent hours reading the voluminous writings in his office. He had a gift for communicating the right words in just about any difficult situation, which he passed on to his children, who he encouraged to think for themselves and express their opinions. He had a natural love of humor, especially the witty, and was always on the lookout for a humorous gem to mine.
Ray was a lifelong fan of golf. He loved South Dakota and the theater and set up a scholarship at his alma mater in the name of his early-deceased brother, Owen Mayo. Through the years he returned home to hunt pheasants in the fall. He passed on his naturalist love to his sons. He will be dearly missed by his many grandkids who affectionately called him Poppy. Son Marcus Raymond Mayo and grandsons Samuel Charles Mayo and Isaiah Raymond Mayo carry his namesake.
He is survived by his wife Patrice (Tee), his children Marc (Mary Lou), Michael (Gena), Merry Martin (Jack), and Patrick (Mary), respectively of Rolling Meadows, Libertyville, Lake Bluff, and Arlington Heights, Ill., and stepsons Scott Mayo (Vivian) of Alaska and Kirk Dedrickson of Prospect Heights, Ill., and his 22 grandchildren.
A celebration of Ray’s life will be held this summer at the home of his son Michael. Interment will be in South Dakota. Memorials may be directed to the Raymond and Owen Mayo Theater Scholarship at South Dakota State University, 815 Medary Ave – Box 525, Brookings, SD 57007.
The family would like to give a very special thank you to the kind and caring hospice caregivers of Compassus.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Hildebrand Funeral Home & Cremation Specialists, 24 E. Davenport Street, Rhinelander, Wisconsin 54501, 715-365-4343. Everyone is invited to sign the register book or leave an online condolence at http://www.hildebrandrussfh.com.
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