Town has lost a remarkable friend, family a great dad

Ray Guy, at one time president of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Chamber of Commerce, member of the Rotary Club of Niagara-on-the-Lake, and The St. Andrew’s Society, has died at the age of 83. He passed away at the Niagara Falls hospital site early in the morning of March 11, after a lengthy illness.

The accolades from family and friends following his death are evidence of a life well-lived, and a man who will be missed.

Ray had been sick for about the last 18 months, says Dave Dick of his good friend, whom he described as having a “brilliant, beautiful mind,” and a desire “to achieve good for the community” he held dear.

Dick says it wasn’t long after meeting Ray that he realized “he was a really special person.”

The two first got to know each other when they both joined a committee to save Niagara District Secondary School. “We spent a lot of time together on that, and Ray did a lot of work on it. He had a vision and a process. He also had some very special talents,” says Dick.

In addition to being passionate about education, Ray had been a great athlete during his university years, was very widely travelled, and had had an interesting and very distinguished career, but you would never know that about Ray unless you encouraged him to talk about himself, says Dick. “He never spoke out about his past accomplishments, and there were many.”

Dick recalls learning Ray had held positions at Canadian embassies around the world, and that he had represented Canada in the U.S., meeting then-
president Ronald Reagan to talk about trade with Canada. He retired as a Senior Trade Commissioner at the Canadian Consulate General in Detroit after a career of more than 30 years.

“He didn’t talk about that either, but I’ve seen him in action in meetings locally — I’ve seen his diplomatic side. He was too smart to get in an argument. He knew how to bring the temperature down. He was really inspirational — if you wanted to get work done, he was the go-to guy.”

When Dick discovered from someone else that he and Ray had a history of rowing in common in their younger years, he had to push Ray to talk about it.

“I was never at the level he was — Ray was an Olympic-calibre rower. He had so many medals — I had to coax him to show them to me.”

Ray was inducted into the McMaster Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999, and was considered “an inspiration to all who knew him.”

“Ray’s McMaster story is unforgettable,” says the university’s Hall of Fame website. “A member of the varsity rowing team from 1964 to 1968, Ray was the captain in his final three years. While rowing for Mac, he twice led his team to a provincial university championship title.”

But perhaps more impressive than a championship title, the website says, “is the story of Ray’s return to rowing after a life-
threatening car accident in 1966. Not expected to survive the accident, Ray recovered and returned to the McMaster rowing roster to anchor the lightweight team to a first place finish.”

He was also a member of Canada’s National Rowing Team in 1966 and 1967, participated in the 1967 Pan-Am Games, and won a total of 11 Canadian championships and two U.S. championships.

It was during his time in Detroit, which included taking people on tours of Canada, that he and his wife Val first discovered NOTL, says their youngest daughter, Olivia Guy.

When Ray retired from his position with the federal government and they came to Niagara, he joined Niagara College as a program coordinator for the post-
diploma and undergraduate programs in international business management, and remained a professor emeritus with the college after he retired in 2007.

“They decided this was absolutely the place to retire,” Olivia says, although they had been considering moving permanently to the family cottage. She was grateful they chose NOTL — as the youngest, Olivia was the only one still at school, and got to finish off her high school years at Ridley College.

That was after years of moving around and living in countries all over the world, she explains.

“We have some wild stories about living overseas, with four kids,” she laughs. “I don’t think any of my friends can imagine what life was like for us. We’d be moving every three or four years. There was lots of travelling, lots of amazing adventures in our lives. We got to see the world several times round. His work provided us with something quite special.”

“He was very charming, and a very funny man,” she continued. “He was a great storyteller, and a brilliant conversationalist who would make people think. We would have fascinating conversations with him, often over a cocktail or cigar. He would talk about what was going on in the world, but he would never force his opinions on us — he just wanted us to use our minds.”

He and Val did a lot of entertaining — that was part of his job. They would have diplomats to their home, and were “fabulous hosts,” she says.

While Ray was known to be quite a chef after Val died, “Mom was an incredible chef. She thought him all her tricks,” says Olivia, who recounts her father’s love of making what he called Ray’s World Famous Pancakes. They were just plain pancakes, made with a recipe from the Joy of Cooking, but they were special because he loved to make them for his family, “and they were world famous because he had made them all over the world,” says Olivia.

After moving to NOTL, in addition to teaching at Niagara College, Ray soon became involved in the community.

Janice Thomson worked with him when she was the executive director of the NOTL Chamber of Commerce, and he served as president. He and Val, who passed away in 2008, had purchased a beautiful bed and breakfast when they came to town, and he was active in the B&B community.

“Hearing the sad news of Ray Guy passing away has caused me to reflect on memories going back to the early 2000s,” Thomson told The Local.

“Ray served as president of the NOTL Chamber of Commerce for several terms, and provided a strong liaison between the B&B community and the Chamber. Always one to seek accord, Ray’s approach to introducing solutions and innovative ways to achieve progress resulted in the Chamber building a strong, visitor-friendly accommodation reservation system that served well for many years,” says Thomson.

“Ray’s confidence in and support for the Chamber staff was constant. He encouraged and backed up new ideas with enthusiasm. His involvement in the Spirit of Niagara awards program saw dozens of residents recognized for their contributions to NOTL, in both commercial and residential sectors. He and Val were the epitome of elegance and old-world charm, bringing their decades of international posting experiences to our town.”

In recognition of Ray’s commitment to the community through the Chamber, explains Thomson, an annual student bursary was established at Niagara College in his name. “This was an immense point of pride for Ray, as providing inspiration, guidance and support for students was extremely important to him. His work at Niagara College in the areas of hospitality, tourism and international relations provided leadership to many Canadian and international students.”

Recognizing the importance of solid educational facilities to support an entire community, Thomson says, “Ray fought hard for the preservation of a high school in NOTL, encouraging Chamber members to become involved in the lobbying to the school board.

“We will remember Ray on Jan, 25 every year — resplendent in full Scottish kilt and jacket, he loved to present the Toast to the Haggis on Rabbie Burns Day with true gusto and respect to his country of birth.”

Dave Dick says Ray was someone he really enjoyed spending time with, “just chatting. I learned so much from him. The town has lost a wonderful citizen, and I’ve lost a good friend. I’m going to miss him, and just popping in to sit and chat. I thought there would be more time with him.”

As Olivia, the only one of her siblings who lives in NOTL, recalls the wonderful home her parents always provided for them, even though they moved so often, she says wherever they went it was the same.

“It was always a solid home, our home, even though it may have been in somewhere like Abu Dhabi.”

Ray leaves his four children, Belinda, Laura, Andrew and Olivia, and four grandchildren, Liam Morgan and Alex, and Rob Dundon and Elyse.

The family will hold a celebration of life for Ray at the NOTL Golf Club April 10, from 2 to 4 p.m.