Raymond “Ray” Koenig
Ray Koenig, age 71, of Florissant, MO peacefully passed away at home, in the early morning of Tuesday, May 25, 2021. He is preceded in death by his beloved son Joseph “Joey”, his parents Joseph and Mary (Starnes) Koenig, brothers Henry “Hank” and Herman, sisters Ruth Stover and Mary Alice Feeney, parents-in-law Ervin and Hildegarde Chrzan, and sisters-in-law Christine Kreher and Kathi Szalajda, brothers-in law Bill Rackley, Jay Stover, Bill Kreher, Victor Szalajda, Jeff Larrick and nephew Scott Rackley.
Ray was a beloved and devoted husband, survived by his wife of 50 years, Marie Koenig (Chrzan); loving father of Raymond II (Andrea) Koenig of Dellwood, MO and Anthony “Tony” Koenig of Florissant, MO. He is also survived by his dear sister Jo Ann Rackley, sister-in-law Nancy Larrick and many loving nieces and nephews.
Ray was born on April 20, 1950 in East St. Louis, IL, raised in Southeast Missouri and later established roots in St. Louis, where after knowing Marie for just seven months, asked her to marry him one week after their first date; spending the next fifty years together raising a family that he was always quick to brag about. His first and greatest love was his family; packing up the family and spending countless hours traveling to southeast Missouri to help take care of his sick parents until they passed, and then, just to spend time with his siblings, nieces and nephews. He was always first to offer his time to help coach his sons’ little league baseball teams.
Ray was full of knowledge and life experiences and wanted to make sure that he could pass along as much of it as he could. He was one that never met a stranger, was willing to help out anyone in need, could make you laugh, and was a faithful friend to many. He enjoyed volunteering his time to help charitable causes like St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. He did all of this, while somehow managing to fit in home remodeling projects with his family and working on classic cars (27+ over the fifty years of marriage). He retired from Ferguson Florissant School District and was a past Master of the Free and Accepted Masons.
A Memorial Mass will be held Saturday, June 19, 2021 at St. Rose Philippine Duchesne Catholic Church, 1210 Paddock Dr., Florissant, MO 63033 at 10:00 am, and a second Celebration of Life will be held in Malden, MO at a later date to be determined.
To leave a message of condolence or to share a favorite memory of Ray with his family, please visit the following email address: raykoenig2021@gmail.com
Uncle Raymond was an amazing man! Someone that loved to talk & had one of the best attitudes about life. It was always a pleasure to be in his presence. If you wanted a big bear hug that would crack your spine….he was the man! He was always full of life & laughter! Never a dull moment around my Uncle Ray!
He is truly missed but I know some sweet day we will meet up in Heaven when God calls me home. Always loved stories he would tell & loved to talk about the Lord Jesus Christ with him. He was always high spirited & if you knew Uncle Ray….you knew he loved his family more than anything on this earth.
I want to send all my love & condolences to the Koenig family. I love & miss you all. God Bless everyone.
A loving niece,
Tammy Rackley✝️
Ray was such an amazing man. I will miss him dearly. Many many prayers for an amazing family, im so very sorry for your loss.
I can’t even begin to say enough great things about this amazing man! He was one of a kind. He had the biggest heart of gold. Always calling his family to see how they are and what’s been going on in their lives. I always looked forward to these calls. If it wasn’t just a call out of the blue just because, you could ALWAYS count on a phone call from him on EVERY holiday! That’s just who my Uncle Ray was. Always thinking of family first. He was so kind, gentle, sweet, considerate, down to earth and just so lovable like a big teddy bear! I’m gonna miss you so very much Uncle Ray. Especially your phone calls! Who will call me and chat with me like you always did? Give me pep talks or speak of the same experiences we went through in life and cry together. Not one soul! Fly high my sweet Uncle Ray! #tiliseeyouagain
Uncle Ray will be missed very much! He was a man who was tough as nails when he needed to be but a giant teddy bear who would talk and cry with you. It was very apparent he cared for every member of his family. We all truly love you Uncle Ray!
Raymon was a very good friend in Parma high school loved to hang out and talk. We both loved cars and to drag race. I remember we went to Paragould Ar to the drag strip had a lot of fun but both of us came home without a trophy. After school I heard he had went to St. Louis but I never heard from him again. But I always thought of him he was the kind of friend you could never forget. God bless his family
Uncle Ray was my uncle but he was like a second father to me after my dad past away Herman koenig uncle Ray brother I don’t know what I will do without hearing my uncle Ray voice and getting his thoughts about stuff and everything.I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH UNCLE RAY AND SO GOING TO MESS CALLING YOU UP AND GETTING YOU THOUGHTS.
MY SINCERE CONDOLENCES FROM A LONG-TIME CO-WORKER OF MARIE KOENIG.
Ray was a patient who I also considered a friend. I was always happy to see Ray. As others have said, he knew no strangers.Well I can say that he & I developed a rapport that went beyond doctor patient. I loved our conversations & we both saw eye to eye about our love for our families & our country. There are things that you pick up about a person when you get to know them. What I picked up from Ray was that he was a family man that’s for sure. He also had honor, commitment and was just a good person all around. You know when someone has love for others & is selfless. His nature reminded me of my father. You can see when someone has values & respect for others to the point that they would go out of their way to help you if you were in need and expect nothing in return. What is beautiful to see is that his sons have it too. Just a wonderful, loving, kind family all around. God bless the boys & God bless Marie & rest of his family. Ray will be missed but I will surely never forget him.