OLIVIA -- Ray E. Halliday, 89, of Olivia died Wednesday at the Golden Living Center in Olivia.
The service will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Olivia. Burial will be at the church cemetery. Military rites will be provided by the Olivia American Legion and VFW.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. today at Dirks-Blem Funeral Home in Olivia and from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. Saturday.
He was born Feb. 2, 1919, in Olivia to George and Emma (Kojetin) Halliday. He grew up in Olivia and graduated from Olivia High School and then attended business school for two years. He served in the National Guard based in Kodiak, Alaska and then attended flight school. He served in the Army Air Corps as a pilot of the B-17 "Flying Fortress." He was shot down over France and spent 22 months in a German prisoner of war camp. He was liberated on April 27, 1945. He returned to Olivia.
He married Evelyn Koterba on June 6, 1946. They lived in Olivia. He owned and operated City Service gas station, Ray's Place and then Halliday Construction for many years.
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He served as a volunteer firefighter for 20 years and was a member of the Olivia VFW and American Legion.
He is survived by five children: Karen Halliday (and John Colvin) of Albuquerque, N.M., John (and Mary Jo) Halliday of Olivia, Jan Halliday (and Steve Hobson) of Beulah, Colo., Kathy Halliday (and Joe Cioffi) of Santa Monica, Calif., and Ric (and Sherrill) Halliday of Redondo Beach, Calif.; nine grandchildren; four sisters: Adella (and Ernie) Ernesti of Vancouver, Wash., Mary Ann Halliday of Olivia, Helen (and Bob) Fallon of Tucson, Ariz., and Barbara Seger of Ft. Worth, Texas.
He was preceded in death by his wife; an infant daughter: Joan; and four brothers.
