Ray was the sixth child of John Thomas Overley and Nannie Isabell Stoltz Overley. He was in the first graduating class of Wichita High School (Now East High) in 1924. He attended Friend's University and joined the Gas Service Company in what would be a 47 year career. At the time of his retirement he was the Assistant Manager.
"My father was always a civil man but by 1960 he came to realize that employment and opportunity for advancement was not available to all. In the Gas Service Company, the only positions open to African Americans were cleaning jobs. That summer my dad hired me and my buddy (who was black) for simple jobs. I was a clerk in the accounting department and Tevis was a janitor. Neither of us had any skill and that separation between clerk and janitor was not lost on dad. The same year he hired the first African American female clerk in the accounting department thus integrating the office of a major public utility in Wichita. It was not a popular move and cost him advancement but he remained committed to the idea of equal rights for all for the rest of his life. As his son I am very proud." RWO
A member of the Civitan Club he served as District Governor in 1948-49. He married his high school sweetheart Temple Irene Stoops on August 6, 1928. They had one son Ron (1943).
"My father was always a civil man but by 1960 he came to realize that employment and opportunity for advancement was not available to all. In the Gas Service Company, the only positions open to African Americans were cleaning jobs. That summer my dad hired me and my buddy (who was black) for simple jobs. I was a clerk in the accounting department and Tevis was a janitor. Neither of us had any skill and that separation between clerk and janitor was not lost on dad. The same year he hired the first African American female clerk in the accounting department thus integrating the office of a major public utility in Wichita. It was not a popular move and cost him advancement but he remained committed to the idea of equal rights for all for the rest of his life. As his son I am very proud." RWO
A member of the Civitan Club he served as District Governor in 1948-49. He married his high school sweetheart Temple Irene Stoops on August 6, 1928. They had one son Ron (1943).
Ray was the sixth child of John Thomas Overley and Nannie Isabell Stoltz Overley. He was in the first graduating class of Wichita High School (Now East High) in 1924. He attended Friend's University and joined the Gas Service Company in what would be a 47 year career. At the time of his retirement he was the Assistant Manager.
"My father was always a civil man but by 1960 he came to realize that employment and opportunity for advancement was not available to all. In the Gas Service Company, the only positions open to African Americans were cleaning jobs. That summer my dad hired me and my buddy (who was black) for simple jobs. I was a clerk in the accounting department and Tevis was a janitor. Neither of us had any skill and that separation between clerk and janitor was not lost on dad. The same year he hired the first African American female clerk in the accounting department thus integrating the office of a major public utility in Wichita. It was not a popular move and cost him advancement but he remained committed to the idea of equal rights for all for the rest of his life. As his son I am very proud." RWO
A member of the Civitan Club he served as District Governor in 1948-49. He married his high school sweetheart Temple Irene Stoops on August 6, 1928. They had one son Ron (1943).
"My father was always a civil man but by 1960 he came to realize that employment and opportunity for advancement was not available to all. In the Gas Service Company, the only positions open to African Americans were cleaning jobs. That summer my dad hired me and my buddy (who was black) for simple jobs. I was a clerk in the accounting department and Tevis was a janitor. Neither of us had any skill and that separation between clerk and janitor was not lost on dad. The same year he hired the first African American female clerk in the accounting department thus integrating the office of a major public utility in Wichita. It was not a popular move and cost him advancement but he remained committed to the idea of equal rights for all for the rest of his life. As his son I am very proud." RWO
A member of the Civitan Club he served as District Governor in 1948-49. He married his high school sweetheart Temple Irene Stoops on August 6, 1928. They had one son Ron (1943).
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