Rotary Friends
Rotary Friends
By Wayne Wilcox
“Friendship multiplies happiness
and divides sorrows.”
This Rotary Friend came to our club in 1993 at the behest of his boss, Lanny Gertler. Being a wise boss, and a son of a Rotarian himself, Irving Gertler, a long-time member of this club, Lanny insisted that our friend come in under the flag and generous shadow of Angelo Cardono (No one does a smoother, jewel-like induction than Angelo.)
Ray was born in South Gate, CA. He went to St. Paul and Santa Fe High and then south to Long Beach State, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He was working at a K-Mart store during that time and while a box-boy he caught sight of one of the store managers; a svelte, long haired woman with a disarming smile. Somehow he managed to overcome the obvious social divide he faced and they became friends, better-friends, and then engaged. Kookie saw something good under the rough exterior and made a wise choice. They wed in 1984.
Ray and Kookie Brown have not been blessed with children but are the God-parents of many and have multiple nieces and nephews with whom they are very close.
Ray has stayed pretty much with retail areas. He began at “All American Home Center,” worked up to CFO, and stayed there for 30 plus years. Then he and friends started “Hometown Hardware” on Paramount Blvd. where he did the same for 4 years. Then he responded to a call for help at The Arc. They needed to manage the financial end a lot better and Ray, whose heart has always been very close to the vulnerable among us, said “I can”. That’s what he does now and Kookie helps mind the finances at the Hometown hangout.
“Downtown” Ray Brown (I have no idea where the moniker came from – I call him RayB) has been a great addition to and a tireless worker in our club. During his stay he edited the Hub-Bub, served on and chaired countless committees and Board positions, finally moving through the chairs to Club President 2000/01. Later he served duties at the District level, being an Assistant Governor more than once. He is surely to be remembered as the brains behind the Cardboard Boat misadventures at the annual District picnics.
When asked about his most difficult life experience, this “mild mannered” show-off told about Hang-Gliding off a cliff above Lake Elsinore. He lived through it despite his near-cardiac arrests and embarrassing other signs of distress. I think once was enough.
He plays tennis with friends and has hopes one day of attending the US Tennis Open in New York with his brother Chris.
Asked about his Bucket List, Ray says that he would wildly like to visit the island of Bora Bora in the South Pacific. He started dreaming of this and other islands when he read the Michener books Tales of the South Pacific and Hawaii and saw himself discovering, as did they, the science and mystique of early navigation.