We regret to inform all QCC members of the passing of Ray Simpson, who died on Wednesday June 22.
Ray was inducted into the IBM Quarter Century Club of Victoria in 1987.
Ray Joined IBM in the Operations area of the Data Centre in 1962. That meant handling and sorting large volumes of punch cards.
By the end of the 60s, he was in the Development area of the Data Centre working with REAL Computers (1401’s and 360’s) as a programmer/analyst.
In the early 70s, Ray became a SE Manager, first in the Data Centre, and then moved to Market Street, in the mainstream part of the business, responsible for Retail customers.
In the 80s, Ray became the Country Retail Specialist resulting in lots of travelling in Australia and overseas.
He, like many others, left IBM in the early 90s, and he continued to take on Project Manager roles for various customers in the retail world.
Later in life, Ray lived alone. This always seemed in contrast to his time in IBM where he was always a people person. He supported and helped so many of his colleagues in their careers
His interests were hobby farming, horse racing, snooker, horse racing, cricket, horse racing, American baseball, horse racing, golf – and horse racing.
About 10 years ago, Ray developed some minor heart issues and it was about this time that he stopped smoking.
From that time on there was a slow but steady decline in his overall health resulting in several falls early this year. In the last 2 months his decline accelerated.
He will be remembered as a gentleman and a friend to many.
Our deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends and colleagues..
We will update this post with any further information on funeral details/service as they are available.
(My thanks to my colleagues, Ray Ffrench and Geoff Newnham, who knew Ray well, for these words of remembrance).
