Ray Charles Robbins' Obituary
Ray C.Robbins passed away peacefully in Dallas on October 7 with members of his family at his side. A visitation will be held on October 16 from 4 to 6 p.m. and a Memorial Service at 10 a.m. on the 17th. Both will be at Restland Funeral Home and Chapel. Ray was a highly respected gentleman, a top level business executive and a sincere friend to many. He was born on September 15, 1920 in Fabius, New York, a suburb of Syracuse. He lived with his mother, two brothers and three sisters. His father passed away when Ray was two years old. His education was completed in central New York, Florida and Ohio. Ray is survived by his wife Lois and three children. They are a daughter, Sandra (Mrs. Anthony Jannetta of Toronto, Canada), a son, Ray C. Robbins, Jr., (wife Linda) of Seattle, Washington, a son, Eric L. Robbins of Coppell, Texas, four grandsons, a granddaughter, a great-grandson and a sister, Vonda Evanchak of Liverpool, New York. Ray and his first wife, Jane Weeden, (deceased) were married in 1940. Little did Ray realize, when he entered employment as a stock clerk in 1940, at the Lennox Furnace Company in Syracuse, N.Y. (Lennox’ northeast U.S. division), that his entire 51 year career would be spent climbing the ladder of success. He ultimately reached the pinnacle position of President and Chief Executive Officer and then finally, to Chairman of the Lennox Board of Directors. Lennox, today, is a worldwide, leading manufacturer of heating and air conditioning products for homes and businesses. In 1942, shortly after World War II erupted, Ray entered the U. S. Army Air Force and upon completion of basic training was assigned to the 11th Airborne Division and served in the South Pacific. Upon discharge, Robbins looked forward to returning to Lennox once again at the Syracuse division, where he soon became Manager of Sales Engineering. In 1948 he was assigned to the company’s Columbus Ohio facility as Manager of Application Engineering and Installation Schools. This was an important teaching role where he worked with hundreds of independent Lennox contractors, giving them the necessary knowledge and tools to professionally install and service Lennox systems in homes and businesses sold in the mid-western part of the country. In 1952, Ray was sent to Canada with the assignment to begin the process of establishing a manufacturing and office facility to build Lennox products for Canadian markets. Toronto was selected as the Canadian headquarter location where a 50,000 square foot office, factory and warehouse facility was soon under construction. Robbins was named General Manager of Lennox, Canada. Under his hands-on approach, Ray was later promoted to President of Lennox, Canada and a Director on the Lennox Canadian Board of Directors. Until recently, Lennox was a privately owned (family held) company dating back to 1895. Today, there are approximately 12,000 employees worldwide and thousands of independent installing contractors. Lennox is now a multi-billion dollar company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1969, Ray became Executive Vice President of Lennox worldwide and was relocated to Corporate Headquarters, then in Marshalltown, Iowa. In the following year, he became the first ever, non-family member to be named President and Chief Executive Officer of all Lennox domestic and international holdings. He was later named Lennox’ Board Chairman. In the mid seventies, Ray saw the important benefits of relocating Lennox Corporate Headquarters to an area nearer to the larger air conditioning markets and where international air travel service was readily available. Determining the new location took several months of research. Once completed, the decision was made to move to the Dallas, TX area. In 1977 the company’s Research and Development function was moved to a new facility in Carrollton TX. Corporate headquarters relocated in 1978 to a high rise facility in Richardson, TX. In all, over 500 families were involved in the total move. Today, all Lennox Corporate Headquarter functions are located in a campus facility on Campbell Road in Richardson, Texas. During his long career, Ray had widespread industry and professional association involvement. While in Canada, he served as Chairman of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute, President of the Canadian Gas Association, and the Toronto District Chairman of the Canadian Manufacturers Association. He was a life member of the American Society of Heating and Air Conditioning Engineers. He was a board member of the Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association and Director on the board of the Timeplan Finance Company LTD., also in Toronto. He was a Director on the Board of Metro Big Brothers Association, and the Queensway General Hospital, on the Board of Governors of the Business and Industry Political Action Committee and a Director on the Board of Purolater LTD. In the U.S., he was also a life member of the American Society of Heating and Air Conditioning Engineers and represented Lennox as a member of the U.S. National Association of Manufacturers and the Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association, all headquartered in Washington, D.C. Robbins also served on the boards of Fidelity Insurance Co., First Interstate Bank, (now Bank of America), Central National Bank Co. and the Hawkeye Security Insurance Co., all of Des Moines, Iowa. He was a member of the executive board of the Mid Iowa County Boy Scouts of America, the Dallas Area Circle Ten Council of BSA and the North Texas Commission. Robbins was a founding board member of the Park Central and Landmark Athletic Clubs and he was a member of the Cooper Fitness Center in Dallas. President Reagan appointed Ray a member of the National Presidents Council of Physical Fitness, focusing the importance of health and fitness for all Americans. Ray retired from Lennox in 1991. It didn’t take too long for him to realize he wasn’t ready to kick back and just take it easy. He quickly became involved in the volunteer arena with the same vigor and eagerness that was his lifelong trademark. In 1992 he became affiliated with the International Executives Service Corps (IESC) of Stamford, Conn. IESC is a non profit organization founded in 1964 by a group of American business leaders headed by David Rockefeller and Sol Lindwitz. Their purpose is to assist enterprises in worldwide developing countries and new emerging democracies and markets by providing the technical and managerial expertise and experience of volunteer experts. Ray had approximately 17 foreign country assignments. Included among them were Egypt, Romania, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Poland and the Ukraine. The Corps philosophy is to assist in the functions of clients’ management rather than attempting to run their business for them. Learning the benefits of the free enterprise system that has been the foundation of business and life in the United States was always a subject of deep interest. Much has been written about Rays’ IESC exploits. He was the recipient of the highly respected IESC Frank Pace Award in 2002. In addition to bringing his expertise to the clients, he found he was in position to arrange exchanges of ideas and technological dialogue with U. S. based companies. Working with many of these businesses resulted in lasting associations and ongoing friendships. The professional help provided also resulted in sizable growth for several of these companies. Ray was a founding member of the Legacy for Public Opinion, a think tank made up of 20 top level, active and retired executives. They meet on a regular basis to analyze issues of current U.S. concern, offer ideas and suggest methods of reacting to them on a local and/or national level. Problem issues including short and long ranged energy shortages, illegal alien controversy, global warming and homeland security, just to name a few. Ray was always there for his family, friends and business associates. His concerns for them were real and he always seemed to take that extra step to help – a step that is so rare in our world today. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made to the Dallas Area Circle 10 Council of the Boy Scouts of America at 8605 Harry Hines Blvd., and The Cooper Institute at 12330 Preston Rd. Dallas Texas 75230, or on line to: Cooperlnstitute.com
What’s your fondest memory of Ray?
What’s a lesson you learned from Ray?
Share a story where Ray's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Ray you’ll never forget.
How did Ray make you smile?