James C Ray

James C Ray was a venture capitalist who gave nearly $25 million to the University of North Dakota innovation and aviation programs. He died Saturday April 1 2017 in Florida at the age of 94 Ray was a venture capitalist who gave nearly $25 million to UND innovation and aviation programs. He donated millions to the Center for Innovation Foundation, the UND Aerospace Foundation and the UND Foundation. According to a 2003 Herald article, he was the second-biggest UND donor after Ralph Engelstad, who gave more than $100 million for the UND hockey arena. Not an alumnus of UND, he first heard of the university through Chester Fritz in 1958, while the two men were living in Switzerland. But it was in the late 1990s when his investments in Cirrus Aircraft brought him to Grand Forks during the construction of the company's plant. At that time, he became close friends with Bruce Gjovig and John D. Odegard, the founder of the aerospace program. Ray was born in San Francisco and was a steelworker after high school. While working on a building for the U.S. Navy in Hawaii, he was about 400 yards from the USS Arizona during the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor. He soon enlisted in the Army Air Corps and served as a B-17 command pilot, flying bombing missions over Europe. After the war, he pursued capital investments, ranched in Montana and practiced philanthropy through his foundation. In addition to his gifts to UND, he supported aviation education programs around the country and causes ranging from therapy dogs to Alzheimer's support, according to the obituary. Ray lived in Naples, Florida.