Ray Ecklund Obituary

Huntsville - Ray Tupiken Martinez Ecklund, age 90, died peacefully in his sleep on February 17, 2025, shortly after moving to his new home in Huntsville, Alabama. He was looking forward to new discoveries and adventures. However, before leaving this world, he was able to enjoy one final road trip from Tucson to Huntsville with his son. Driving past beautiful vistas in New Mexico, seeing the juxtaposition of huge wind turbines and the fossil fuel industry on the high plains of Texas, a view from the bridge over the "Mighty Mississippi" at Helena, Arkansas, the civil war sites near Corinth, Miss, and the towering Saturn V Rocket overlooking the Tennessee River Valley. Conceived by Ramon Cruz Martinez and Amelia Mary Alvarez Tupiken, Ray was born on June 20,1934 in Tucson, Arizona, at the Stork's Nest, the city's first maternity ward. Ray received his Baptism and Confirmation at Saint Augustin's Cathedral, received his first Holy Communion at Saints Peter and Paul Parish, and later joined the CYO at St. Ambrose Church. He fondly remembers being a child well cared for by his single mother, his Ukrainian Grandfather Josef Tupiken, Aunt Antonina Tupiken Martinez, Uncle Joe Tupiken Jr., Grand Aunts Rosie and Ruby Palafox Alvarez, his adobtive father Edward A. Ecklund, and the kind neighbors encircling his family's homestead at 10th Street and Vine. His "Little Village of Love"! He enjoyed exploring the small city of Tucson of his childhood - the school playgrounds, the city parks, the downtown streets and buildings, the university greenspaces, the Santa Cruz River, and the nearby desert and mountains. He was especially proud that he was one of the original customers of Mrs. Lerua, who first sold her green corn tamales from her back porch, just four doors down! He attended Miles and Menlo Park elementary schools, Mansfeld Junior High School, and graduated from Tucson Senior High School in 1952. He enrolled at the University of Arizona, joined the Phi Kappa Theta fraternity, the Newman Club, the requisite ROTC, and pursued his business degree. He always considered himself fortunate to have had great educational opportunities nearby. Then he met Terez, the love of his life. Terez Peter Adamy immigrated from Hungary via Switzerland in 1950. She was pursuing an education at U of A as well, but they decided to put their college on hold, and married in California with plans to pursue other opportunities. Those plans were dashed with the advent of their first child. They returned to Tucson for Ray to finish his degree. Upon graduation, they moved to Phoenix for Ray's employment and to be closer to Terez's oldest sister and brother-in-law, her surrogate parents, Agnes and Richard Duisberg. Shortly thereafter, their two daughters were born. For nearly six decades, except for a few years in Flagstaff, they sunk deep roots in Phoenix, finding that stability and security they craved in their childhoods - raising a family for over 50 years in the same house on E. Nicolet Ave., and pursuing their long-term careers, Terez as a high school foreign language teacher for over 30 years, and Ray as a finance manager for over 35 years at GMAC, later as a mortgage broker. Ray traveled extensively, especially enjoying the wonders of cultural diversity, often meeting up with Terez and her summer trips with students in Europe. He was a champion high school wrestler, scout leader and little league coach, but mostly he was a good, devoted husband and father, a people person, who loved to socialize, a real "Dale Carnegie Course" guy! He and Terez moved to Tucson in 2017 to be closer to family, and Ray devoutly oversaw the care for Terez suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Ray was so grateful for the assistance and company he received from family and friends towards the end of his life and her life and felt so lucky for the experiences he had with everyone he knew and the life that he had. Ray was preceded in death by his wife, Terez, his daughter and son-in-law, Judy and Paul Smith, his maternal cousin Josephine Tupiken Herrera, and his sister and brother-in-law Agnes and Richard Duisberg. He is survived by his children, Fredrick (Leslie) Ecklund and Kari Ecklund, grandchildren, Jill Ecklund (Bill) Bulger, Bryant (Devin) Smith and Carolyn Smith (Robert) Brown, nephew Carl Duisberg, niece Stephanie Duisberg, nephew Robert Duisberg, maternal cousins, Lita Tupiken(Joe) Romero, Frank Tupiken and Yolanda Tupiken, 5 great grandchildren, many maternal cousins once and twice removed, the many paternal first cousins like the newly discovered Luz Martinez Ornelia family cousins, and the 1000 plus Ancestry DNA distant cousins he never had the chance to meet. This was his passion late in life - discovering relatives he never knew he had, embracing the commonality and celebrating our diversity in this big, beautiful melting pot we call America. A private graveside service at Holy Hope Cemetery and Celebration of Life in Tucson will be held later this month. The family requests that you share a message in the memories and condolences section after the obituary in legacy.com