Ray Powders

Ray was born in Unionville Missouri on July 4, 1925 to Olga and Orville Powders. He was the youngest of 4 children; Margie the oldest, John, Dorothy, and finally Ray. He was the last surviving sibling.
Ray came to Denver when he was 13 years old to live with his father and graduated from South High School. Life in Denver was very different than small town Missouri and Ray loved it.
He enlisted in the Army when he was 18, and served in WWII for 4 years; the majority of it was in Europe. He was in the Army Unit that liberated the Dachau prison camp and was very proud to have been part of that operation. He was discharged at the end of his 4 years as a First Sargent and he settled in Denver. He worked with his father at a car dealership for a few years and then went on to work for Walker Brothers Ford and Viner Chevrolet.
He met his wife, Shirley and was married in Denver on October 8, 1950. They had 3 children, Ray, Cindy and Michael. They were married for 68 years. His son Ray who was always known as "RP" graduated from Casper College went on to become a master mechanic and worked with his Dad at the family's VW/Audi Dealership up until RP's death in 2014. It was a tragic loss that Ray never really recovered from. His youngest son Michael graduated from Denver University with a JD and MBA and went on to practice law in London where he now lives with his 3 boys. His daughter Cindy graduated from University of Wyoming with a BA in Business, and moved to Denver, eventually getting an additional degree in Interior Design from Arapahoe Community College.
In 1968 Ray and Shirley bought the VW dealership in Casper WY which he expanded over the years and continued to run until moving to Denver 1 ½ years ago. Ray had an incredible work ethic and was a very driven person. More than anything he loved his family and he loved cars. He led a big life, had a great sense of humor, and he lived his life entertaining people with his war stories, stories about cars, and funny anecdotes drawn from his many life experiences.
He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Shirley, his son Michael Powders, his grandchildren Matthew, Mark and Thomas, and his daughter Cindy Powders.

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