Dr. Leroy Ronald Ray Jr.

Leroy Ronald Ray, Jr., age 82, passed away Tuesday, February 12, 2013 in Kalamazoo, MI. He was born October 17, 1930 to Leroy Sr. and Tommie Lee Ray in Temple, TX, and attended segregated public schools in Temple, graduating from Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School. With a football scholarship in hand, he attended Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, LA, where he received a Bachelor's degree. He taught biology at Booker T. Washington High School in Shreveport, LA, prior to attending graduate school at Howard University, Arizona State University and the University of Southern California. While living in California he worked for Aerojet-General Tire Corporation, then later pursued his Ph.D. at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. As a faculty member and administrator, Dr. Ray was employed at Johnson C. Smith University (Charlotte, NC) and Malcolm X College (Chicago, IL). In 1973, he began his employment with Western Michigan University, in Kalamazoo, and served as Professor and Director of Black Americana Studies until his retirement in 1996. He initiated many community outreach programs at Western including the Hands On Science Training Program for Elementary Age African American Youth. He also started the Afra-American Chorale, and offered courses on Black Male/Female Relationships and Black Women through the Black Studies department. He organized an annual W.E. B. DuBois Conference, and initiated a major study on the Black Church in Kalamazoo. Dr. Ray was the founder and executive director of the Farm Research Cooperative located on his farm in Bloomingdale, MI, where youth and small farmers participate in science and agricultural workshops. He was one of the founders of the annual Michigan Family Farms Conference, was the lead investor in the Lester Lake Investment Corporation/Simpson‘s Resort initiative, and hosted a Black- owned rodeo there for several years in the 1990s. He was a Golden Heritage Life member of the NAACP, and a proud member of the American Quarter Horse Association. He cherished his horse Stormy’s Bingo. Over the years Dr. Ray was involved with numerous national, state and regional organizations and agencies, including the USDA/NRCS/RMA Risk Management Agency, Michigan Food & Farming Systems (MIFFS), the Michigan Alliance of Cooperatives, the USDA Committee for Van Buren County, the Smart Board of Directors, and the Sauk Trails RC&D Council. He also was a longtime supporter of the Piney Woods School in Mississippi. He is survived by his son, Larry (Shirley) Ray, Dallas, TX; daughters, Karen Ray (Richard) Wood, Tampa FL; Patrice (Brian) Whittaker, Kansas City, MO; Abeni Hester, Flossmoor, IL; one sister, Carlos (Terry) Busby; five grandchildren including: Yolanda Ray Jennings, Rachelle Wood, Marlon Wood; three great-grandchildren Keiron Jennings, Kendall Jennings and Jaedon Wood; a nephew, two nieces and other relatives. Special friends include Roberta Alexander, Chauncey Brinn, Janie Brooks, Morse Brown, Rhonda Davenport-Johnson, Denise Hall, Daniel Harvell, Glenn Hawkes, Mildred Johnson, Leander Jones, Barbara James Norman, James C. Palmore, Sandy Penn, John Pierre and Robert Young. He was preceded in death by his parents Leroy and Tommie Lee Ray, and dear friend Janet Walker. ****NOTE:****In lieu of flowers, monetary gifts may be made toward a youth scholarship fund payable to the Farm Research Cooperative, 14530 CR 665, Bloomingdale, MI 49026.

Dr. Leroy Ronald Ray Jr.

October 17, 1930 - February 12, 2013