Vintage Mongoose

People > Employees > Ray Hayes

Ray Hayes

Dated November 16, 2007

Skip, do you remember a man named Ray Hayes that worked for you?

"When I was the Chief Engineer at Superior Industries I hired Ray Hayes as a draftsman to assist my department. Ray was working in Indiana for a tool and die company and was confined to a wheelchair due to a birth defect. Soon after founding BMX Products I brought Ray aboard. All of the engineering drawings, and there are many, were performed by Ray.

I would give him pencil sketches of new designs and Ray would provide engineering, detail drawings for manufacturing and patents. I still have many of these drawing in my files. Ray then worked for me for a couple of more years after BMX Products. Ray had accumulated sufficient funds from BMX Products profit sharing to then retire. He lived close by to me in a trailer park and we enjoyed a long and very close friendship.

Just a few months ago, while driving his hand-controlled car he sustained an accident, fatally ejecting him into the street. The irony of this is that the doctors said that his birth defects were so serious that he would be fortunate to survive to age 5 or 6. He was killed in his late 60's. (He smoked 3 packs of cigarettes a day and wore children's clothes as he was about 4 feet tall). I truly miss this pal of 30+ year's friendship and contributions and so will many of my other associates." Skip

wheelchairgoose