Ray Allred.com
Born in Pampa, Texas to Raymond and Clara Mae Allred who already had one child, Mary Virginia. Raymond was the District Attorney at that time and his brother James V. Allred was the Attorney General for the State of Texas. In 1934, Uncle Jimmy went on to become a two term Governor for the State of Texas.
I grew up under the stewardship of a man who enjoyed the great outdoors. Hunting, fishing, hunting dogs and fine horses were the order of the day. Whether working on the ranch near Midland, Texas or just out for a local bird shoot it was always fun – we talked about guns and hunting at the drop of a hat. Something we both loved.
I started my first hunting club in East Texas when I was seven years old. This club was housed in the attic above the garage. There were six or seven charter members who hunted the neighborhood with their BB guns. There was also a near by lake that provided much game for us to collect. We mounted the game on the rafters and each rafter had a story to tell. That club continued until the we moved to Houston.
With that move came the decision to send my sister and I off to a boarding school, San Marcos Academy. At 10 years of age, I put on my first uniform and didn’t really stop wearing one until I retired from the Army after 37 years of service.
My military education and career made many hunting and educational opportunities available to me. I was able to hunt throughout most of the world while serving in those areas. Spending six years in Europe, three in the Far East, and various state side assignments in Texas, North Carolina, Maryland, Washington State and D.C., Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana. I earned educational degrees in Texas, Nevada, Indiana, and Kansas and hold an Associate, Bachelor, and two Masters degrees. As I grew older, people began to call me by my first name, Raymond or Ray, which was of course the military way.
I never lost my passion for the great outdoors and all it provides. I have always stayed very active in most sports, golf, hunting, fishing, shooting – both rifle and shotgun competitions. I also share a love of good dogs and horses.
My love of the outdoors and my military career made a good fit. I loved the airborne units and serving with them was indeed an honor. I always took everything to the extreme, if jumping out of airplanes was my duty, then I took it seriously. Competing in free fall parachuting contests and serving on demonstration teams. I had to fly in order to have a platform from which to jump. So flying was a necessary part of that formula.
I met and married, Mary Lenore Fischer, of Neola, Iowa. She was flying with United Airlines when we met in Washington, D.C. That union produced three siblings, Elizabeth, Edward and Elaine. They too have become very successful and have produced six grandchildren, five boys and one girl. At this writing another is on the way and should be born to Ed and Rachel in June 2008, making it seven.
Coupling my enlisted time to 30 years of commissioned service and two wars, Korea and Viet Nam, I retired and elected to remain in San Antonio, Texas. My mother and sister lived there as well and my mother needed my love and support as her health was failing. My dad died while I was serving in Viet Nam, 1969. My mother passed away several years later, both are buried in San Antonio.
Upon retiring from the military, I began a career in the Financial Services Industry. I became a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), and a Registered Representative in San Antonio. I still continue to work in these fields although my participation is very limited. Age, health, and interest have taken their toll on my work ethnic.
I continue to stay very interested in outdoor activities. Still love to hunt, be around great dogs, and attend shooting events. More importantly I work very hard to pass these skills on to my grandchildren and watch them develop. Last hunting season was one of the best because I got to spend most of it with the grandkids, out hunting doves, quail, pheasants, deer, turkey, hogs, javelina, prairie dogs, and varmints. Nothing means more to me, than seeing these young kids develop into fine young men and women like their parents.
Name: Ray Allred
Occupation: Ret’d. Col.
Birthday: December 27th
Status: Married
Hometown: San Antonio,TX
Books: Horn of the Hunter, The Old Man and the Boy, The Snows of Killimanjaro, The Short Happy Life of Francis McCumber, Man-Eaters of Kumaon, Death in the Long Grass
Movies: Patton, Zulu, A Bridge Too Far, Wyatt Earp, Mogambo
TV Shows: Most Sports: Hunting, Fishing, Football, Golf, Rodeo, Dog & Horse Competitions
Musicians: Roy Orbinson, George Strait, Reba McEntire
Travel Destinations: Africa, South America
A little bout old “Sonny” . . .
