Leaving a Legacy of Hunger Relief and Hard Work: Remembering Raymond Vojir

It was a childhood road trip to Colorado when Raymond (Ray) Vojir first fell in love with the West.

“Every year we’d take a road trip,” recalled Ray’s older brother, Joe. “Ray saw the West and recognized that he liked it out there.”

Ray and his wife moved to Denver after graduating from the University of Michigan in 1965. While Ray’s career as a CPA was taking off, his body began to succumb to epilepsy. The disease eventually forced Ray to retire early and, after a divorce, move into an assisted living facility in Prosser, Washington, where Joe and his wife lived.

Despite these challenges, Ray was committed to donating to organizations he believed in, including Food Bank of the Rockies. His final gift of $1.5 million to the Food Bank was made via his estate plan. Ray died on January 6, 2020.

“The bottom line was that [Ray’s] health and body betrayed him,” said Joe. “But even after all that, he never forgot that there were other people out there and things that needed to be done, and that’s why he donated like he did. He recognized his condition and, because of that, was sensitive to other people’s needs.”

By including Food Bank of the Rockies as a beneficiary of his estate, Ray’s legacy will be one of hard work and generosity. The more people like Ray who choose to use their legacy to help feed our neighbors experiencing food insecurity, the more we can reduce the burden of hunger across Colorado.