Dale Berger (right) is Ray’s best and lifelong friend who presented Ray with the very first Ray’s Battle Band.
Dear Loveland Magazine Readers,
There are moments in life that stop us in our tracks and hit us like a ton of bricks. These moments send a shockwave through our very being and make us question why and what it is that we truly believe; some might call them “Come to Jesus” moments. For my siblings and I, the most profound of these moments came on a late June morning when we first heard that our brother, Raymond Wene, was diagnosed with a grade 4 Glioblastoma; an incredibly aggressive form of brain cancer with an extremely grim prognosis. It is for this reason that we are sharing his story and asking for help for the man that we have looked up to, not only as an older brother, but as an example of what a dedicated husband, father, Christian, and man of extremely high moral principles looks like.
“Raymond Wene has an incredibly aggressive form of brain cancer with an extremely grim prognosis.”
Raymond is a brilliant example of how a man should live his life. He has always been known as the life of the party given his larger than life personality and sense of humor, two of the traits his children love the most about him. He is the oldest sibling, one of four, the one we all look up to. He is our rock and the glue that holds everything together. We all know at any moment, on any given day, we could ask anything of Ray and he would drop whatever he is doing to be there for us. He has always been the type of person to accept others right where they are in life, and for that reason people have sought him out to confide in him and seek his counsel. He is easily one of the most kind, selfless, and generous men that we know, willing to help out whenever the need presents itself. These traits, which seem to come so effortlessly, have only developed more as he has continued to cultivate his relationship with God over the years.
His home has long been the family gathering place not merely for the immediate family, but for aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, neighbors, strays, you name it. He married Tina, a woman with a huge heart who not only allowed and put up with Ray’s open door policy, but welcomed it with open arms. This perhaps was best exemplified about ten years ago when my parents moved in with Ray and Tina, adding to a home that already had two young children. Alex, now 15, and Ella, now 13. They are a strong and vibrant Christian family, actively attending and serving at Branches Church in Loveland.
Raymond’s influence however, far exceeds what he has done inside his own home. He’s been an inspiration to countless others in various roles within the Loveland community. He has coached both youth football and basketball teams and though it has been several years, the impact he had on those young men couldn’t have been more evident than the moment that nearly the entire football team, now high school graduates, came to visit him in the hospital just before his surgery to remove the tumor.
Simply put, Raymond has touched, positively influenced, and impacted more lives in his forty-four years than most people have in a lifetime twice as long. We are so thankful that he has been in our lives to give us brotherly, fatherly, and godly advice throughout the years. Thank you Raymond. It is an honor and privilege to call you our brother and we love you more than words can ever say.
Sincerely,
Ray’s younger siblings, Teresa, Nikki, and David
If you want to help support Ray’s Battle and the entire Wene family, we are calling all prayer warriors to lift him up in prayer and add him to your prayer lists. You can also help by making a donation to Ray and Tina’s Go Fund Me Battle Fund at https://www.gofundme.com/ray-and-tinas-battle-fund.
If you would like a battle band, which reads, “Ray’s Battle” “Win the Battle”, all you have to do is make a donation to the Go Fund Me page and contact Dale Berger at [email protected]. Dale is Ray’s best and lifelong friend who just presented Ray with the very first Ray’s Battle Band. He is calling on all of Ray’s warrior friends, family, and community to wear your Ray’s Battle Band throughout the duration of his treatment to help him “WIN THE BATTLE!”
