Born on September 24, 1937, to Milton and Pauline Zinn, Ray Zinn grew up on a cattle ranch in the farming community of El Centro, CA.
The eldest of 11 children, including six sisters and four brothers, Zinn was raised a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and a strong work ethic was instilled at an early age by his parents.
When he was four, his mother sent him to the store to lug home heavy bottles of milk.
He had a driver's license at 13 to chauffeur his siblings in a Ford pickup and work with water management officials in the dead of night to assure the family ranch received their allocation. "
Work becomes instilled in you from an early age.
So if somebody asks me how 'success' is spelled, I tell them it's spelled W-O-R-K."
Throughout his high school and college years, Zinn was an accomplished gymnast, hurdler and member of the track and field team.

During his junior year in college, he told his father he was quitting school and his father locked him naked, wrapped in a paper towel diaper, in the ranch office restroom for six hours.
Zinn's father was giving his son a lesson about what it meant to cut short his education. "
He was saying, 'Well, if you're going to quit school, you're going out in the world the way you came in.'
He wanted me to think about living with decisions," Zinn said.
Ray Zinn changed his mind and finished college.

He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1960 with a BS in Industrial Management, and an MS in Business Administration from San Jose State University in 1968.
Born on September 24, 1937, to Milton and Pauline Zinn, Ray Zinn grew up on a cattle ranch in the farming community of El Centro, CA. The eldest of 11 children, including six sisters and four brothers, Zinn was raised a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and a strong work ethic was instilled at an early age by his parents. When he was four, his mother sent him to the store to lug home heavy bottles of milk. He had a driver's license at 13 to chauffeur his siblings in a Ford pickup and work with water management officials in the dead of night to assure the family ranch received their allocation. "Work becomes instilled in you from an early age. So if somebody asks me how 'success' is spelled, I tell them it's spelled W-O-R-K."
Throughout his high school and college years, Zinn was an accomplished gymnast, hurdler and member of the track and field team.
During his junior year in college, he told his father he was quitting school and his father locked him naked, wrapped in a paper towel diaper, in the ranch office restroom for six hours. Zinn's father was giving his son a lesson about what it meant to cut short his education. "He was saying, 'Well, if you're going to quit school, you're going out in the world the way you came in.' He wanted me to think about living with decisions," Zinn said. Ray Zinn changed his mind and finished college.
He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1960 with a BS in Industrial Management, and an MS in Business Administration from San Jose State University in 1968.
Ray Zinn