Ray Bryk was born in Ukraine in 1920 and emigrated to Canada in 1930 along with his mother and sister to join his father who came to Canada in 1925. He graduated from Beausejour Collegiate and moved to Winnipeg where he graduated from Business College. He served in the Canadian Army for 5 years and attained the rank of Warrant Officer. Upon discharge, the Department of Veterans' Affairs at Portage La Prairie employed him as a Personnel Dept. Supervisor.

In 1947, Ray joined the Sherwin-Williams Company and was the Advertising and Sales Promotion Manager for Western Canada. In 1959, he joined the O'Keefe Brewing Company as a Sales Representative and was promoted to General Sales Manager for Manitoba. In 1973, he joined Melton Real Estate until 1975 when he established Ray Bryk Realty. He was accepted as a Fellow of the Real Estate Institute of Canada (FRI).

From 1960 to 1965, Ray served as a Civil Aide-de-Camp to the late Lieutenant Governor, Errick F. Willis.

Ray had a passion for serving the community. Before he became the Chairman of the Air Cadet League, he was Chairman of Air Cadet Squadron #573 for 3 years. He served as President of the Ukrainian Veterans' Branch #141 Royal Canadian Legion from 1956-1958 and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and a Life Membership. He also served on the Boards of the St James Chamber of Commerce, Holy Family Nursing Home, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Carpathia Credit Union and the Winnipeg Real Estate Board. His efforts in the community were recognized when he was awarded the Centennial Medal and the City of Winnipeg Community Service Award.

Ray was married to Emelie and they had one son, Thomas. Ray passed away peacefully in May 2000.