A. Ray Oliver was born on September 8, 1884 in Spring Creek, Missouri. In 1900 he moved to Provo, Utah to work for the Telluride Power Company. Oliver spent time working in Provo, Telluride, Logan, and Niagra Falls. In 1907 he attended the University of Missouri where he played football. He graduated in 1910 with a degree in engineering and received a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell in 1911. After graduation Oliver continued to work for the Telluride Power Company (later changed to Utah Power and Light) in a variety of capacities including electrical engineer and power plant supervisor in Hyrum and Olmstead, Utah. In 1920 he moved to California to work for the Goodyear Rubber Company. In 1923 he and his family moved to Chicago where he worked as an account collector until 1933. In 1933 they moved back to St. Charles where Oliver worked as a civil engineer for the Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) and the Defense Housing Administration. In 1914 Lola Castlio and Oliver were married in St. Charles, Missouri and the couple had two children (Ray Jr. and Lola). After Lola's death in 1945 Oliver was remarried to Ludine Lilian in 1946.