His obituary from the Mooresville Times, January 13, 1999:

Mooresville native Raymond House, 85, died Jan. 11, 1999, at his home in that city. He was born the fifth child of Douglas and May House on Sept. 3, 1913. His grandfather was Henry House, who came to Mooresville at the request of the town's founder, Samuel Moore, while the town was still in its infancy. When Ray was 10 years old, his father died. He and his two brothers and two sisters were raised on a farm on the outskirts of Mooresville. In 1932, he graduated from Mooresville High School.

He worked at Antrim Machine Shop in town from 1934 to 1939 and then opened Mooresville Welding - owning and operating it from 1939 until his retirement in 1974.

While at Antrim's, Ray formed a lasting relationship with Lee Oldfield, self-made engineer and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Chief of Rules and Regulations. It was through this friendship that House would eventually find himself immersed deep in the noise and excitement of the Indy 500. He was a charter member of the United States Auto Club and seved the Indianapolis 500 Old Timers Club as president for 1986-87. Ray was Assistant Timer for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from 1946 to 1949 and Chief Timer from 1950-1989, receiving the Speedway's Oldtimers Plaque.

Ray was recognized for his timing achievements with an appearance on the David Letterman Show. He gained a good reputation at Mooresville Welding for his new designs and ways to "fix the unfixable." He created beautiful, lasting stair rails for many of the area's homes as well as for the old Mooresville Methodist Church that still exist today. He installed numerous, functional garage doors throughout the state of Indiana and was especially proud of the firetrucks he built for Decatur Township and for Jamestown. Thousands upon thousands of strong scariffer teeth for J.D. Adams' eight graders were forged and pounded out by his employees. The shop was under Ray's ownership for 35 years. Even now, in 1998-99, with new ownership, it continues to exist and serve the community in the same building where House first began his dream.

He held many memberships; some lasting 50 years, including Mooresville Masonic Lodge #78, Mooresville Lions Club (president 1951-1952), charter member of Mooresville Chamber of Commerce, American Welding Society and Mooresville Development Corporation (one of the founders and presidents). Ray was named Mooresvillian of the Year in 1957 and was awarded the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1994.

He was a member of the Board of Directors of Citizens Bank in Mooresville from 1968 to 1988, serving as Chairman of the Board from 1978-1984. House was in charge of overseeing three new branches for Citizens, including the remodeling of the Brooklyn branch.

He was a 50-year member of the First United Methodist Church in Mooresville.

Ray married his second wife, Betty Duncan Baker House, on Jan. 14, 1984 and enjoyed 14 years with his wife before her death on Nov. 22, 1998.

He was also preceded in death by brothers, Harmon and Henry House; and sisters, Norma Taylor and Charlotte Fuller.

He is survived by his daughters, Nina J. Langley, sixth grade teacher at Neil Armstrong Elementary in Mooresville, and Virginia L. Larson of Orangeburg, New York; five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Services will be Thursday, 11 a.m., at Carlisle & Son Funeral Chapel in Mooresville with calling tonight (Wednesday) from 2-8 p.m. at the funeral home. The Rev. Gene Young from First United Methodist Church will officiate. Burial is to be in Mooresville Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Mooresville Revitalization Group, Inc, P.O. Box 307, Mooresville, IN 46158.

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I think Mr. House's obituary is distinctive for an obviously important man to the community, so I repeated it in its entirety. I've read some about Samuel Moore, the founder of Mooresville. He wanted those he considered to be a high moral character to settle in his new town and especially wanted those he felt could help the community grow. He obviously decided well when he picked the House family.

His first wife was Carey Grace Cramer. I'm not sure why she is not mentioned in his obituary. Her name appears on the gravestone but only with a year of birth. 


All of the above was taken from findagrave.com entered by J.Sullivan