A Short History of a Family Company
Gene Ragel, Sr. started building swimming pools in Tucson, Arizona in 1946.
Those first pools were built with Johnny Austad, of the Austand Steel Company. Johnny was a steel fabricator, concrete contractor and innovator. Together they built poured-concrete pools, water tanks and even “fallout shelters.” In 1958, Gene and a partner, Jack Wilson, formed Ragel Wilson Pools and started focusing entirely on custom pools in the Southern Arizona region. They built more than 75 pools a year (a substantial amount at that time) until Gene moved to Phoenix in 1963 to join Paddock Pools.
In 1969, Gene Ragel returned to Tucson as the first manager of Patio Pools, a new division of Phoenix-based Shasta Pools. Within a year, Gene and his partner Jon Evans, purchased the new Tucson company and Patio Pools & Spas, as we know it today, was born.
Gene Ragel’s philosophy of never compromising on quality, customer service or attention to detail propelled the youthful company to the top of the market. Within a year, Patio Pools & Spas became Southern Arizona’s largest custom pool and spa builder with a well-deserved reputation of giving customers what they wanted at a reasonable and fair price. In 1972, Patio Pools & Spas earned a singular honor by being invited to join the prestigious Master Pools Guild.
The company’s focus on quality, service and price motivated the opening of Patio’s first full service pool supply store. The new store carried pool/spa chemicals, patio furniture, BBQs, accessories like swim wear and pool toys, and a new product – acrylic spas. By the end of the decade, Patio had five retail stores in Tucson and Sierra Vista.
The company enjoyed spectacular growth. In 1978, it built a record 817 swimming pools in Tucson! In 1980, Gene bought out his partner Jon Evans. When the recession hit in 1980, and second mortgages escalated to more than 20%, Patio Pools was able to survive and prosper while many other companies went out of business. That difficult period of stress took its toll on the company however, because in 1982, it lost its founder when Gene Ragel Sr. suffered a fatal heart attack. The Ragel family endured that loss and came together, stronger and more determined than ever to maintain and build the company Gene Sr had started.
Today, Patio Pools & Spas is still a family business. Dorothy Ragel, Gene’s wife, is Chairman of the Board and son, Mark (CSP, CBP) is the President. Gene Ragel Jr. is the Manager of the Renovation Division and sister Chris, manages the Human Resources Division. They all grew up in the business and they know it well. In fact, there is no swimming pool and spa company in Southern Arizona that has the leadership, the experience and the commitment of the Ragel family.
That’s why Patio Pools & Spas remains as Southern Arizona’s oldest and largest swimming pool and spa company, having created more than 17,000 residential and commercial swimming pools and more than 9,000 spas. No one else provides the convenience and support of their retail stores and their full-service divisions dedicated to repair, maintenance and renovation. No one else has a veteran management staff and more than 300 experienced craftspeople. No one else can provide the stability, reliability, and superior quality of Patio Pools & Spas.
