Environmental ‘naturalist’ Ray Williams

Rio Hondo, Cal High teacher left his footprint on the earth, in a good way

By Tim Traeger
Editor
411whittier.com

WHITTIER – If you love nature and the great outdoors, you’re a kindred spirit to Ray Williams.
Known primarily for his passion for biology, his ’57 Chevy, longevity in teaching and his environmental stewardship, the longtime Rio Hondo College biology teacher died Aug. 15 at his home in Lake Arrowhead. He was 79.
Williams did many positive things for the environment over the course of his life. He helped found California’s first Earth Day, started the 80-acre Rio Hondo College Wildlife Sanctuary and stood on the front lines with other key people who helped save the Upper Newport Bay as an ecological preserve.
“Because of his efforts, many endangered birds still have one of the few remaining bays in Southern California to migrate to, and thusly are saved from extinction as they migrate from California to Mexico,” said his wife of 13 years, Tatyana “Mary” Melnikoff. They enjoyed a “27-year love-of-life” relationship.
She said among her husband’s many attributes, he worked tirelessly to preserve the Whittier Hills. “’No’ spells ‘now.’”
The couple met when she was a Rio Hondo student in one of his biology classes. Mary said they were both educators, she being a professor of poetry at Citrus College in Glendora. She also served a stint as a staff writer for the Whittier Daily News.
In 1968 Williams joined the Rio Hondo College Biology Department, where he helped originate its first ecological and environmental courses. Over the next 45 years, he led hundreds of nature hikes and taught literally thousands of students to embrace the outdoors in places like Hawaii. He traveled through the Amazon and enjoyed the Salton Sea and Morro Bay. He began teaching at California High in 1957.
“Everybody is saying the word ‘respect.’ He was very well respected,” said longtime friend and fellow Rio Hondo staple Don Jenkins. “His heart was out there with the animals and the environment. I always told him he was the voice of the environment. He took care of the earth. He saved Back Bay in Newport Beach and became mayor,” Jenkins said.
Judi Henderson, longtime dean of behavioral sciences at Rio Hondo, remembered Williams as a caring educator who loved biology and nature.
“He was for years an academic leader, a faculty leader,” Henderson said. “He was active in the union. He was a union leader. He taught environmental biology class. He took his students out on hikes. Until recently, he would lead hikes up around (Lake Arrowhead) and explain the plants. He engaged people in outdoor activities – a very popular teacher.”
In fact Williams served as president of the Rio Hondo College Faculty Association from 1982 to 1984 where he orchestrated the first community college strike in California history.
“Ray was a good man, a real man. He had the most gentle soul, powerful and wise, and he will always be so loved and appreciated. His greatest happiness was caring for us and our family,” wife Mary said. “Losing Ray, my life is forever changed and nothing will ever be the same.”
Ray Elbert Williams was born Dec. 20, 1933 at Queen of Angels Hospital in Los Angeles to the late DeLoss and Min Williams of Whittier. He was the eldest son of two children. He graduated in 1951 from Whittier High School and earned a bachelor of science degree in biology from San Jose State and a master’s degree in both education and environmental sciences from Whittier College.
Williams is survived by wife, Mary; stepdaughter Anya Seboldt; sister Phyllis Millard (Bill); children from a previous marriage, Jennifer McDonald (Dallas) and grandson Connor; sons Barry and Jeff.
Memorial services will be held at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013 at the Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center in Newport Beach.
In lieu of flowers, send donations to the Newport Bay Conservancy; e-mail JohnBennettKeating@gmail.com or mail to P.O. Box 10804 Newport Beach, CA. 92658

Tim Traeger is former editor of the Whittier Daily News. E-mail him at ttraeger@411whittier.com or call 626-646-7352.