Raye Montague

Raye Jean Montague (née Jordan; January 21, 1935 – October 10, 2018) was an American naval engineer credited with creating the first computer-generated rough draft of a U.S. naval ship. She was the first female program manager of ships in the United States Navy.

Early life and education Raye Jordan was born on January 21, 1935, to Rayford Jordan and Flossie Graves Jordan in Little Rock, Arkansas.

She recalled, “My grandfather took me downtown to see that submarine and I was able to go down a little ladder into that sub. It was like a tin can. That was my first introduction to ships. You just never know what inspires a person.”

She graduated from Merrill High School in 1952. For college, she attended Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal College (now University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff) and graduated in 1956 with a Bachelor of Science degree in business. At the time, the engineering program at the University of Arkansas did not admit African-American students.

Career

Montague joined the United States Navy in 1956 in Washington, D.C., as a clerk typist. At work, she sat next to a 1950s UNIVAC I computer, watching the engineers operate it until one day, when all the engineers were sick, she jumped in to run the machine.

Montague died of congestive heart failure on October 10, 2018, at Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock.

Awards Meritorious Civilian Service Award (US Navy, 1972) Society of Manufacturing Engineers Achievement Award (1978) National Computer Graphics Association Award for the Advancement of Computer Graphics (1988) Arkansas Women's Hall of Fame (2018)