DAUENHAUER, RAYMOND CARL JR., returned peacefully to his Heavenly Father January 2, 2011. After a courageous 21-month battle with lung cancer, Ray peacefully left us. He will be forever missed by all the people who love him.
Ray graduated from DeSales High School in 1961. He attended Eastern Kentucky University and played football. He left school to work with his father in their family business. He also joined the Kentucky Army National Guard in 1964.
Ray married Constance Carricato on February 4, 1967. They renewed their vows in 1992, 25 years after the first ceremony. They have one daughter, Courtney, who was great support and love throughout his life.
Ray was a past CEO and owner of Dauenhauer & Son Plumbing and Piping, Inc., which was the largest privately held plumbing contractor in Louisville. He joined his father and developed the company from a home business with two trucks and few employees into the largest merit shop company specializing in plumbing in Louisville. He held a master plumbers license in the states of Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. He was a partner and investor in land developments throughout Louisville and Jefferson County.
Ray was a member and past president of the Louisville Association of Plumbing Heating, Cooling Contractors (PHCC), the Kentucky Association of PHCC and a lifetime member and national president of the PHCC (NAPHCC). He was awarded Contractor of the Year in 1983 and the Colonel D Scott award in 1994 by the NAPHCC. Ray believed, "Every man owes a portion of his time and money to the advancement and protection of the industry from which he gains his livelihood." He received two awards from the Home Builder's Association of Louisville (HBAL). In 1985 he was awarded Associate of the Year and in 2000 he received the John W. Robinson Lifetime Achievement Award. He served on almost all of the committees for the HBAL and was a lifelong member of the HBAL Board of Directors. In 1996, Ray was the president of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Kentuckiana (ABC). He received the Delta Plumbing Contractor of the Year Award in 1993.
He served several years as commissioner for the Louisville and Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Commission and for the Land Development and Transportation Committee. He served six years for the Kentucky State Plumbing Code Committee. Ray was a graduate of Leadership Louisville and Dale Carnegie. He received the Ernst and Young Business First Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Real Estate/ Construction and received the Distinguished Citizen Award.
Ray was previously on the board of directors at First Bank and was currently on the Board of Directors of Central Bank of Jefferson County. He was on the Board of Directors of Thermoview Industries from 2002 to 2006. He was president and CEO of Palladium Communications from 1998 to 2003, which became a publicly traded company in 2001.
He was a longtime board member at Audubon Country Club (ACC) and served as the president from October 2001 to September 2002. He was an avid golfer and won many tournaments at ACC, Lake Forest and Deer Creek Country Club. He also greatly enjoyed playing cards with his friends and family, especially Wednesday nights at the Mole Hole.
Ray was very involved in the Kids Center for Pediatric Therapies. He has been a board member since 1993. He was treasurer for two years, vice president for two years and president from 1998 to 2000. In 1996, he chaired the fund-raising campaign and building project which completely renovated the center. On December 7, 2010, Ray was honored with a sculpture "the heart leads the way" for helping the children at Kids Center. Ray was most proud of his work at the Kids Center because he knew he helped meet the childrens' needs and wanted to ensure that no child would be turned away.
His love of his family grew more each year and was his most prized possession. Ray loved life and lived it to the fullest to the the very end. He was an example to his family and friends to cherish what you have been given. Ray was a devout Catholic and a member of both St. Margaret Mary Parish in Louisville and St. Ambrose Parish in Deerfield Beach, FL.
Ray was preceded in death by his parents, Raymond C. Dauenhauer Sr. and Mary Katherine (Custinger) Dauenhauer.
He is survived by his loving wife, Constance "Connie" Carricato Dauenhauer; and his daughter, Courtney Rae Dauenhauer; two sisters-in-law, Bonnie Allen and Janet Mingus (Kenny); nieces; nephews; great-nieces; great-nephews.
Funeral Mass is 10 a.m. Friday at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church. Visitation is 6-9 p.m. Wednesday and noon-5 and 6-9 p.m. Thursday at Highlands Family-Owned Funeral Home, 3331 Taylorsville Road.
Ray's family wants to say a special thanks to Ilona Popp for her many years of friendship and professional support.
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Kids Center of Pediatric Therapies, www.kidscenterky.org

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