Ray Viramontez

[SamW]

I just talked to Ray's daughter Valerie and I regret to inform everyone that Ray passed away Saturday.

He was a dear friend and the fellow who got me started engraving back in '67 when I lived across the street from Ray and his family in Albay, GA.

May he rest in peace!

 

[Mike_Morgan]

So sorry for your loss, Sam... My condolences to you and his loved ones.

 

[JJ Roberts]

That is sad,Ray was a great guy you could call for advice and he always had the time to answer your engraving questions condolences to his family. J.J.

 

[John B.]

I just talked to Ray's daughter Valerie and I regret to inform everyone that Ray passed away Saturday.

He was a dear friend and the fellow who got me started engraving back in '67 when I lived across the street from Ray and his family in Albay, GA.

May he rest in peace!

Sam,
I am so sorry to hear of the loss of our dear friend Ray Viramontez.
My condolences to his family and many friends. He will be sorely missed.
Ray was kind enough to make and supply the students with little pure silver kits used in my 27 years of advanced engraving classes.
He called them his "Bearclaw" silver kits and sold them to the students for about metal costs.
Nothing was too much trouble for Ray when it came to helping another engraver or student.
God speed and keep you Ray.
John Barraclough.

God speed

 

[zzcutter]

Sorry to here this, Ray helped me along my way and was always there if you had a question. Rest in peace my friend

 

[DevilDog]

Sam,

I didn't know Mr. Viramontez, but I thought the mourning band was a thoughtful gesture. I sure like this forum.

 

[sam]

Ray's daughter emailed me last night and she's going to make a post here as soon as she can.

I was one of Ray's customers early on in my career, and would meet him at various shows over the years. A fine fellow, fine engraver, and another huge loss to our engraving family.

Heartfelt condolences to Ray's family.

 

[Doc Mark]

I too will miss Ray. He helped me a lot when I first wanted to learn how to inlay. I bought one of his "Bearclaw" kits and used pure silver to practice with. I still have some remaining. He was a great man and will be sorely missed!

 

[BrianPowley]

Sorry to hear. Ray was a fine gentleman and a wonderful guy to bounce things off of. Probably never knew a stranger and will be sorely missed in this world.
Prayers for the family.

 

[tim halloran]

I to bought supplies from Ray almost 30 years ago. I'd call him and pick his brain about things, and I bought my Gravermeister and a Crocker pattern graver sharpener from him in 1988. He was quick to give you help and just sit and shoot the bull if you wanted to. He will be missed and my condolences to his family.

 

[FANCYGUN]

Damn I loved the man. Another loss to us all. Sam...How old was Ray?

 

[Roger Bleile]

It is saddening to learn of the passing of another highly respected master gun engraver. Ray Viramontez was the first master gun engraver I met. Back in 1976, when I was a beginner, my brother and I made a pilgrimage to Rays home shop in Beavercreek, Ohio. At the time, Ray was a Chief Master Sergeant in the US Air Force stationed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base. My brother had previously visited Ray when he was beginning to engrave and learned valuable advice from the master. Having seen Ray's work featured in the Gun Digest for several years, I was already a fan and impressed that he would advise an engraving nobody like me.

Over the years, I met Ray here and there at gun shows and it was always a pleasure to see him again. When I wrote my first book in 1980, Ray was one of the best known of those featured. His brief biography and images of his work are on pages 159-162.

I will close with a few images of a Government Model Colt that he engraved in 1976 for the bicentennial.

 

[SamW]

Marty, he had recently turned 83...which is looking younger the older I get!!

At Turner AFB in the 60s Ray was a photographer/camera operator on a KC135 used by the Turner based photo mapping wing. A couple of his more interesting assignments as photographer were taking photos of the SR71 secret program at area 51 and then later was photographer on the zero-gravity flights for the astronauts.

 

[monk]

sad, reallly a loss. my condolences to his family. like many others, i was inspired by his many works that appeared in the gun magazines. i can say he spent a lot of time on the phone with me on many occasions. helpful he was, as well as very encouraging . a true friend to all that wanted to learn.

 

[Dave London]

Rest In Peace

 

[Ron Spokovich]

Back in the early 80's, I spoke with Ray on the phone briefly with a problem I had. It was quickly resolved. I bought a few things from Ray, over a few years, and, one of the two gravers I bought from Ray I recently sent to Monk. . .now Monk has a bit of history. Ray will be missed!

 

[fegarex]

Man, so sad to hear this. Ray was a real inspiration to me and was the one that told me about FEGA forming. While he hasn't been to a FEGA show in a while he was always in my memories. A true gentleman and mentor.

 

[Marrinan]

Ray lived about 3 miles from me. The last I saw him was at the Eastman gun sale here in town. I sat and chatted a bit,4 hours and at lunch, about a local Dougherty County commutative model 1895 Winchester he was working on with a lot of gold inlay like you would normally see on SAA. Lots of lettering and such. real pretty work My house is actually in a Nilo (Olin of Winchester ownership family). As Sam W. can attest we live in the heart of the quall plantation country. It was a spec gun he was cutting for/with the local gun shop. I told him what I was up to, trying to break into the plantation work. that is how I became primarily the cuter of fancy harness parts and bridles for walking horses.-King of the monograms for mules and horses that are the same as jeep to this new the nest time I saw the 1895 it was half the original asking price and finally sold for half the original ask. but Ray like to say that at least he had a local customer. He had told me he had never sold a engraving to anyone local. but he had sold to them to several to the of the plantation owner down here when he moved to his last post. GOD's SPEED rA and very best

 

[mitch]

He was my supplier of choice back in the '80s. 24k wire, all sorts of odds & ends you couldn't find in any hardware store. and before the days of impersonal online ordering, he always had time to shoot the breeze when i'd call. what a nice guy...

 

[Omar Haltam]

My condolences to his family, and us the engraving community...