As part of our push for increased alumni engagement, we have started this Alumni Spotlight series. We will be interviewing aumni from all walks of life, graduated and undergraduate, to shed light on the lives of the men of the Theta Chapter. Currently we are releasing 1 spotlight per newsletter. Please see our most recent spotlight below.

“He helped me get elected as president when I was a junior and helped me understand that leaders are there to serve—it’s not just a popularity contest,” Ray recalled. “That has stayed with me my whole life.”  

Throughout his college years, Ray enjoyed opportunities to bond with his brothers. He had fun as a new member because it brought him closer to the men in his pledge class. He was on the soccer team with many other Sigma Chis, including Tuffy Robins ’61, Bayard Moran ’62, Charlie Crosson ’62, and Scott Sturges ’63, and he fondly remembers Tim Parsons ’64 playing folk music on his guitar and singing on the bus rides to away games. He also loved playing on the IFC champion intramural softball team.  

The Next Stop  

The next marker along Ray’s unplanned path was medical school at Temple University, which required perseverance to succeed.  

“College was terrific fun,” Ray shared. “I had a great balance between my work life and my academic life, and I had a wonderful time at Gettysburg. Medical school, on the other hand, was nothing but hard work, and it was competitive.”  

Ray found success and was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. After Temple, he completed an internship and surgical residency at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia before serving as a surgeon in Vietnam with the Marines. When he returned, he completed his neurosurgery residency and Pediatric Neurosurgical Fellowship at Temple, was selected to stay on as a faculty member, and became the chairman of the neurosurgery department at the local children’s hospital. 

Ray worked hard in his career. He developed a research lab to probe the microscopic structural and physiological changes in hydrocephalus, or water in the brain, which led to publications in the Journal of Neurosurgery. Some other highlights include receiving the Lindback Award for being an outstanding teacher at Temple and being selected as president of the Temple University Faculty Senate. 

Changing the Route  

Working long hours, Ray began to feel burned out. In 1990, he relocated to Reading, Pennsylvania, and began the private practice of neurosurgery at Reading Hospital, which helped him recreate his work/life balance. While there, he was elected president of the Berks County Medical Society, which led him to become involved with the Foundation of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, eventually becoming the chairman of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.  

Ray retired in 2017, and after spending a few weeks relaxing, he missed having a purpose in his life and reached out to the Pennsylvania Medical Society; he was hired to be the medical director of its Physician’s Health Program and has been employed there ever since.  

Enjoying the Scenery  

Complete with two sons and a daughter, Ray has been happily married to his wife and childhood sweetheart, Betsy, for 57 years. His favorite hobbies include sailing, walking, and keeping up with his four grandkids. 

You can connect with him at truex.ray@gmail.com.  

Read past spotlights:

Fall 2022 – Orin Levine ’88

Spring 2022 – Eric Lee ’15

Fall 2021 – Alan Fuerstman ’78

Spring 2021 – Mike Sass ’10

Fall 2020 – Aaron Lawson ’10

Spring 2020 – Col. (Ret) Fred Bikle Hoenniger ’52