Industry veteran Raymond Mace died peacefully in his sleep on April 25 in Little River, SC, according to his wife Christine Mace. He was 75.
Mace was born in Isleworth, England, and at age four was orphaned after losing both his parents. On turning 16, he joined the Royal Navy. He thrived during his naval service and was assigned to the HMS Ark Royal as a radar technician.
Sometime after returning to civilian life, Mace began a career in the vending industry. At Park Warren Vending, he began as service engineer and worked his way up to operations manager. He and his manager are fondly remembered for chasing burglars who broke into their car and stole the company safe. They never nabbed the robbers , but the duo became known as “Starsky and Crutch” for their daring attempt.
Mace established a training school for the vending industry, providing instruction and career path for unemployed individuals. With the aid of a good friend, Peter Harward, more than 600 students graduated from his training school and hired as vending engineers and route persons by many vending companies throughout the UK.
An enormously proud moment for Mace came in October 2004 when, for his training work, he was awarded the prestigious National Training Award, competing alongside companies like IBM and British Rail. This was a highlight of his career.
In 1994 he married Christine in Mombassa, Kenya (they loved to travel) and the couple in 2006 settled in Little River, SC, where they began Royal Maids.
In addition to his wife Christine, he is survived by his son Gary (Justine) daughter Ashleigh (Mark) and stepdaughter Laura (Amanda), as well as grandchildren Joe, Steven and Chloe, and great-grandfather to Arabella Rose.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, May 12, at First Presbyterian Church at 3810 Robert M. Grissom Pkwy, Myrtle Beach, SC 19577.
Christine Mace wrote and published a moving tribute to Ray’s life at dignitymemorial.com.
