Highly regarded and sought after for his keen business acumen, his input on the growth and development of Bakersfield has been invaluable, business leaders say. The business success the Dezembers enjoyed during their fiveplus decades here enabled them to embrace the social needs of the community close to their heart. The Bakersfield Homeless Center, the Red Cross, United Way and the Boy Scouts are but a few of the organizations that have benefitted from their gifts of time and money. “We owe this place a lot, and so we try to participate where we can and where we are needed,” Ray added. Major benefactors of CSUB’s Walter Stiern Library, a reading room there is also named after the Dezember family. Although no longer involved in day-to-day business decisions, Ray has watched the economic downturn of the last few years from the sidelines with great interest. “I think the economy’s engine was running too fast, and in this case, it overheated and has slowed,” he said. “There is an old saying in business, that ‘No matter what you do or how you do it, you must always pay attention to taking in a little more Ray Dezember than you pay out,’” he advised. “Now just imagine, what if California did that?” These days, the couple enjoys the satisfaction volunteer work brings. “You get to my age and you do a lot of volunteer work, which is much different from being in the competitive profit-making environment,” he said. “And it is no 9-to-5 job. When people find out you want to volunteer you won’t have trouble finding jobs,” he laughed. Like Ray, 76-year-old Joan, with her modest and low key, yet upbeat and positive demeanor, delights in the work they are doing with Garden Pathways, and The Flood helping the homeless. “It means that people will feel better about themselves, be a part of our community, be able to learn and be wonderful citizens. That is a hope of mine and Ray’s.” And although Ray has often been called “Mr. Bakersfield” by friends, Joan said her husband has never been comfortable with the moniker. “The other day someone addressed him as that and Ray said, ‘Mr. Bakersfield is dead,’” referring to his friend, the late Jim Burke. But the Dezembers’ role in the growth of Bakersfield is indisputable. Four children, 11 grandchildren and a lifetime of distinction and accomplishments behind them, Ray and Joan Dezember remain as committed to their community as they were the year they arrived. “If people don’t participate, you don’t have the community you should,” Ray said. “Life is more fun when you participate.” No question Bakersfield is all the richer for their participation.
“You get to my age and you do a lot of volunteer work, which is much different from being in the competitive profit-making environment.”
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