Vernon “Ray” Meininger unexpectedly passed away on November 4, 2016 in Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa, where he was living and working with his wife Laurie. Ray was born in Wickenburg, AZ at a very young age and grew up in Northern California. He graduated from Piner High School in Santa Rosa, CA and volunteered for service in the U.S. Army in 1968; he served in Viet Nam. He received his B.S. in Facilities Engineering from Pacific Western University. Ray and Laurie (Roethlein) married in 1974 and have one son, Jason Meininger. Ray worked for several years in hospital administration and facilities management in Sonoma, CA and Honolulu, HI before they joined the Foreign Service as diplomats with the U.S. Department of State. Ray has lived and served abroad in The Marshall Islands, Cameroon, Guyana, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Romania, Iraq, Central African Republic and Sierra Leone, in charge of Embassy facilities in those countries. Ray retired in 2015 after receiving numerous Superior Honor and other awards for his service. In Sierra Leone, Ray was consulting with the United Nations on rehabilitating health care centers that had been devastated by the Ebola outbreak of 2014-2015. Ray made friends wherever he went; always with good cheer, a broad grin, witty humor and kindness. He was a true gentleman and lived a life full of love, laughter and adventure and was never without a handkerchief in his back pocket. Ray is survived by his wife Laurie and her family, their son Jason, daughter-in-law Deven, two grandchildren, Jordan and Travis, who recognized how magical he was; his mother, Vi Nordman, his brothers Rick, Greg, Gary and Tom Meininger and their families, numerous cousins and friends around the world. A celebration of Ray’s life will be held Sunday, November 13, 2016 from 1-4 pm at the Discovery Center Power House in Durango, CO - all of Ray’s friends and family are invited. Condolences may be sent to: The Meininger Family, 905 N. Hidden Valley Cir., Durango, CO 81301. The family requests that gifts in memory of Ray may be made to a charity of choice.