Ray Groves Obituary, Death, Funeral And Visitation

Ray Groves Obituary, Death Cause –  Ray Groves passed away on May 3 at the age of 87 after a long and fruitful life. He leaves behind his wife of 61 years, Anne, his three sons, Phil, Matt, and Dave, eight granddaughters, and one great grandchild. He was a devoted husband and father. Elizabeth, his daughter, as well as his father and mother, Gordon and Helen, passed away before he did. Ray was born on September 7, 1935, in Cleveland, Ohio, and he received his high school diploma from East Tech in the year 1953.

Following the merger that took place in 1989 between Ernst & Whinney and Arthur Young to form Ernst & Young (EY), Ray served as Co-Chief Executive Officer, and subsequently Chairman and CEO of EY, until his retirement in 1994. When he left his position, he held the record for being the CEO of a Big 8/Big 4 professional services firm who had served the longest.

After receiving his cherished summa cum laude from his alma mater, The Ohio State University, in 1957, Ray immediately went to work for the accounting company of Ernst & Ernst in Cleveland. In 1966, at the age of 31, he became the company’s youngest partner, surpassing anybody who had come before him. Beginning in 1977, when he was 42 years old, Ray served as Chairman and CEO of Ernst & Ernst. During his tenure, the company underwent two significant mergers, first with the New York City firm S. D. Leidesdorf & Co. in 1978, and then with the English firm Whinney Murray & Co. in 1979, resulting in the formation of Ernst & Whinney.

In the latter half of the 1960s and throughout the early 1970s, he was an essential figure in guiding the industry through a time of significant upheaval and advancement. Ray was a visionary who quickly led E&E through its transition from a powerhouse across the midwestern United States to the industry-leading worldwide professional services organization that it eventually become.

Ray Groves Obituary, Death Cause –  Ray Groves passed away on May 3 at the age of 87 after a long and fruitful life. He leaves behind his wife of 61 years, Anne, his three sons, Phil, Matt, and Dave, eight granddaughters, and one great grandchild. He was a devoted husband and father. Elizabeth, his…