OHA Obituaries

Rugby Club that he first met Gill. In later life this dynamism also showed through in his work as Branch Meetings Secretary for NADFAS (the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies), for which he organized many events.

Life for Ray and Gill has not always been easy. They lost their second son Lawrie at age 21from Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and their daughter Julia has had a longstanding illness.

And now Ray’s own life has been prematurely cut short by an invasive kidney tumour. Even here Ray proved an exceptional patient – although first diagnosed 4 years ago, with a prognosis of 4 months, he outlived that prediction many-fold (so much for statistics) but eventually and inevitably succumbed to the enemy within. Throughout Gill has proved an even more exceptional wife, nurturing and caring for him through ever-increasing degrees of infirmity, at home, in hospital and in his final abode at Clare House nursing home, borne up by her continuing strong religious faith.

Ray will be sorely missed by all of us here today. All our sympathies now go out to Gill and to their son Chris and family. And finally some small, but vital compensation: although Ray himself is no longer with us, his genes go marching on. Not everyone is blessed with that sort of immortality.

OH at Ray's funeral were : Mr & Mrs David Maconachie (David was Ray’s brother-in-law); Phil & Tessa Alterman; Donald Wells; Rodney Jakeman; John & Caroline Egan; Mike & Joan Bovington; David Heasman; Tony Alexander; John & Liz Hanson; Peter & Christine Shiells; Malcolm and Jane Tappin; Robin Mathew; Duncan McLaren; Melvyn Steele; Brett Rolfe; John Parker;Alan Woolford; Ian Powell; David Yeadon; Mrs Pat Cook;Peter & Patricia Vacher.

A tribute to Ray written by Peter Shiells Ray was not a large man, but his courage on a rugby field merited him a place in OH rugby folklore. His height remained constant but in later years his girth increased due becoming a gourmand. He played more than 200 games for the OH 1ST XV over a period of 19 years from 1955. He started as a wing forward and later reverted to centre at a time when OH probably had the two smallest centres in Old Boy rugby. His pal in the centre was John Boon and they together with Phil Alterman competed for the shortest player. In one photo John and Ray were sitting on the ground and to Ray’s continued chagrin it turned out that JB had taken a brick with him to elevate him above Ray! I well remember when Ray was doing National Service inAldershot(55-56)he managed to get (ex Secretary, and ex Colonel(?)) Arthur Jenkins to request his release on Saturdays to play for the OH. I picked him up at Guildford on a number of occasions and delivered him to the ground, played alongside him but never found out how he got back to Aldershot. He was probably enjoying his freedom at a party somewhere. After demob the après rugby activities