age 86 years. On Aug. 3, 2015, having lived a life filled with adventures, Ray with total trust in his Lord boldly embarked on the last and greatest adventure of life. Born in 1929, the son of a Lutheran pastor, Rev. Raymond W. Ploetz, and Registered Nurse mother, Evelyn Frances (Barr) Ploetz, he moved with them from parsonage to parsonage in the Midwest and southwest and observed the hardships of the great depression in Illinois and the depression plus the dust-bowl in Oklahoma and the disheartened Okies returning to Oklahoma after a fruitless search for work in California. Even at his young age he observed and noted those broken by those conditions and those who fought back against those conditions and became the "Greatest Generation" which won the Second World War. Second to raising his children, Ray's most gratifying career was his service in the Army. Denied admission to the Naval Academy in 1947 by a heart murmur, Ray enlisted as a recruit In the 330th Army Band, soon the 103d Infantry Division Band (now the 451st Army Band). At the beginning of the Korean War he transferred to Military Intelligence (Ml) Branch and later at rank of Sergeant First Class, in recognition of his efforts in a counter-intelligence mission assigned his unit, was given a direct commission in Ml, one of only two of those first commissioned in the newly established Army Ml branch. Among his assignments in Ml, Ray taught strategic appraisal and arms control at the Army Command and Staff College, Ft. Leavenworth, and combat intelligence and counter-intelligence subjects at the 5th Army intelligence School. In 1984, in his last assignment as contingency commander of the U.S. Army Special Security Group, he was retired at the rank of Colonel. Ever after, he stood ready should his country call. He was gratified to share in winning the Cold War and was awarded the Legion of Merit, two awards of the Meritorious Service Medal, three awards of the Army Reserve Service Medal and three awards of the Army Reserve Commendation Medal. Devoted to our republic, Ray returned to college mid-career and received his Master of Arts in Public Affairs from the University of Minnesota. He was an active observer of the national and local political scenes and his letters to the editor and his commentaries were published frequently, more frequently after his military retirement He was also active in his community serving inter alia as president of the Mound Area Chamber of Commerce and lay leader of Bethel Methodist Church, Mound. He was pre-deceased by an older sister, Helen J.M. Ploetz.