Ray Besing

Ray passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in San Antonio, Texas on April 16, 2021 at the age of 86. Born on September 14, 1934 in Roswell New Mexico, Ray Besing was a senior trial attorney in Dallas Texas for 36 years. He specialized in court trials and regulatory agency hearings dealing with telecommuncations and antitrust laws, which brought competition to the U.S. monopoly telephone industry. He prepared telecommunications legislation for the U.S. Congress and State Legislatures. Ray enrolled in Rice University to study nuclear physics, but ultimately transferred to Ripon College in Wisconsin where he became a philosophy major under the tutelage of Dr. Bill Tyree, who became a major source of motivation and inspiration. In 1957, Ray moved to Washington, DC and studied international law at Georgetown University before accepting a scholarship at SMU law school in Dallas, Texas, where he discovered and embraced his love for the law. Upon graduation, Ray practiced civil litigation law with Geary, Brice & Lewis in Dallas from 1960-1974, before forming his own law firm from 1974-2000. He is survived by his 4 sons, Chris, Gil, Andy, and Paul; his eight grandchildren, JC, Sarah, Brent, Allie, Barrett, Blakely, Ashley, and Lindsay; and his great-grandchild, Arthur Champion, son of Allie and Glenn Champion.