Member

Service Recall
Member: Ivan Ray Cranston, P.E.

Ray Cranston was born in Colville, Washington, and grew up on a dairy
farm near Coeur dAlene, Idaho. He attended the University of Idaho
graduating with a BS (ME) in 1961 when he joined a consulting
engineering firm in Missoula, Montana called General Engineers.

Ray moved to California in 1964 and joined F. T. Andrews, Inc.
Mechanical Engineers. He was hired by Richard Palmer, P.E., who was
Chief Engineer at the time. Their offices were in Fullerton and
remained in North Orange County until the firm was sold to the IDS
Group in 2008. Ray moved from design engineer to chief engineer, to
president and finally owner when Ray and partner Jim Belna
purchased the firm from Frank T. Andrews, P.E. the founder. His
partner Jim retired in 1998 and passed away in 2013. Ray is a licensed
mechanical engineer in California and Arizona.

The firms practice included the design of HVAC, plumbing, fire protection and process piping
systems. K12 schools were the majority of the firms projects with more than 5,000 school projects
in Southern California. Other clients included numerous County of Orange agencies, Hughes
Aircraft, North American Rockwell, Union Oil, Raytheon Systems, Western Medical Center, Anaheim
General Hospital, and J. P. Morgan Chase. Since his retirement in December 2013, Ray continues to
consult with the IDS Group.

Ray was a founding father of the Orange Empire Chapter of ASHRAE and worked with Ken Watts to
get the Chapter started and chartered in 1968. He served as Chapter President in 19711972 and
beyond on several committees through the years.

Now that Ray is officially retired and no longer works at the office 1012 hours a day, he has time to
travel with his wife of 50 years, play golf and explore other passions that include gardening and
reading. Ray is an active member of Eastside Christian Church in Anaheim, serving on the guest
services and hospitality team, and the facility management team. He is a member of the board of
directors for Helping Hands Adult Day Care, a provider of services for developmentally disabled
adults. He is a member of OCV, the Orange County (Cor) Vette club. One can imagine him enjoying
a good wine with his wife on the patio of their Laguna Beach condominium while watching the
sunset.

Thank you Ray for providing information for this article and for your many years of service to the
industry, ASHRAE and helping to found its Orange Empire Chapter.

Craig F. Hofferber
Chapter Historian; 20152016