Ray Edward Andres

Ray Edward Andres transitioned peacefully with family near in the early morning hours of July 28, 2018, under palliative care of the special doctors and nurses of the VA Hospital in Fargo, ND.

Ray was born April 9, 1934 in Bismarck, ND to Clarence E. Andres and Marjorie L. (Hunt) Andres. Ray was educated in Medina, ND, then on to Jamestown College, and ultimately graduated from the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (the Fighting Sioux!) in 1957.

He proudly served his country with two years at White Sands Army Missile Range and four years in the Army reserve.

He joined the International Silver Company, Meriden, CT, where he spent 16 years. During that tenure, he lived in Fremont, NE and Minneapolis, MN. After that he went with the Traub Company and then Jostens Jewelry Company, all while living in the Minneapolis area.

In 1963, he married Joanne Irene Hughes in the Presbyterian Church at Steele, ND. They have two daughters, Amy and Beth.

In 1978, he moved his family to Fargo, ND where he became affiliated with Royal Jewelers where he spent the next 22 years. During that time, he was a member of AGS (American Gem Society) and earned his GIA (Gemological Institute of America) degree.

He was a member of the Shrine for over 53 years having spent most of that time at El Zagal Temple in Fargo, ND where he was an active member of the Ritualistic Divan and the Arab Patrol.

Ray was known for his sense of humor and always had a redneck joke ready to go. On the weekends, you would find Ray around a campfire with family and friends at the Long Lake Campground or in the boat fishing. He created cross necklaces out of horse shoe nails which he shared with many people. And he must have spun literally hundreds of racks of cotton candy at the Shrine Circus and flipped thousand of pancakes Saturday mornings at the Shrine Club.

He leaves behind his wife, Joanne, daughters, Amy (Dave) Thorpe, Moorhead, MN; Beth (Jim) Zitzow, Fargo, ND; grandchildren, Josh (Kayla) Thorpe, Kayla (Thorpe) Gefroh, Mathias, Jacob and Brennen Zitzow, and 9 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to The Scottish Rite Language Center or The El Zagal Shrine Auxiliary, both in Fargo.