By Frederick Halley
GUYANA-born Ray Williams prides himself on coming from a family of achievers; his eldest brother, the late Aubrey Williams, distinguished himself as one of Guyana’s renowned artists, siblings Michael – a playwright of esteemed quality, Lesney – a dentist and Keith – dental technician and businessman (all deceased). The lone surviving brother Monty was a former US Social Security Administrator who resides in Chicago, USA.

Now retired, Ray spoke with the Pepperpot Magazine from the comfort of his Pickering, Ontario home about his scholastic achievements, his “roams” around the world accompanied by his wife Margaret, writing short stories, poems and travelogues and his passion for photography.
According to Ray, “to date, I’ve written 15 travelogues published on the ‘Trip Advisor’ website under the pen name ‘817 Ray,’ highlighting some of my many world travels. I’ve also written over 40 short stories, (of which my genre is ‘creative non-fiction) and about 28 poems. My desire is to have them published in future. I’ve also been a guest reader at the Pakaraima Writers annual banquet, of which I’m a member.”

Ray explained that his other writing association is with ‘Writers Community of Durham Region,’ from which he received a certificate of appreciation, and won first prize in a writing competition for my children’s story, – ‘The last leaf of Autumn.’
About his travels, Ray exuded: “In our travels, Margaret and I have always strived to view not only the pretty tourist attractions of the country or city visited, but also the not so nice, which held some significance to its overall character. Some such places were the German concentration camps of Dachau outside of Munich Germany, and Auschwitz in Poland. In Cambodia we were quite taken aback walking the grounds of the ‘Killing Fields,’- remnants of the Cambodian civil war. River boating on the Mekong River, brought back memories of the devastating Viet Nam War.”

Among the other places the couple visited, which Ray described as appealing to their spiritual yearning and for which they are most blessed, were sacred sites such as the ‘Vatican’ in Rome, the ‘Golden Temple’ in the city of Amritsar in the Punjab state of India, ‘Machu Pichu’ in the Andean Mountains of Peru, the ‘Potala Palace’ in Lhasa Tibet, the shrine of ‘Fatima’ in Portugal, as well as the statue of ‘Christ the Redeemer’ high atop Corcovado Mountain in Rio De-Janeiro Brazil.

On his photography passion, Ray pointed out that “wherever we roam I’m always willing to practice my other passion, that of photography, capturing memories to last a lifetime. And apart from gardening in the summer, I’m an avid ‘star gazer’ wherever I am in the world.

In a career adorned with outstanding accomplishments in the Ontario Public Service, Ray was, in a long list of public appointments, a member of the Immigration task force on Refugees, the planning committee of the Ministry of Correctional Services Multicultural Seminar, Vice-Chairman of the Community Liaison Committee of 42 Division Metro, Police Services, Chairman of the Correctional Services Division Anti-Racism and Multiculturalism Committee, and Associate member of the Association of Black Law Enforcers, topping these up with the Governor General of Canada Exemplary Award.

Prior to leaving his homeland, then British Guiana in 1963, Ray worked as a clerk at Sandbach Parker & Company Georgetown. According to him, he went to Chicago, USA to further his studies. There he graduated with two degrees – Associate in Arts Degree from Central YMCA Community College in 1967 and in 1970 a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Roosevelt University majoring in Sociology, thereby launching his career covering the fields of law enforcement, race relations and multiculturalism. Later he took to writing and travelling the world. In January 1970, Ray immigrated to Canada and settled in Toronto

In an interview with Guyana Achievers in 2014, Ray said then that ‘through Aubrey’s encouragement and influence my artistic expression emerged in the form of woodcarving, after joining him at the ‘Working Peoples Art Group.’ This group was founded by Mr. E.R. Burrowes, the father of Guyanese art. I much later won a ballet scholarship for a year under the tutelage of Ballerina Helen Taitt, enabling me to better appreciate the varied arts.”

Ray was also involved in several extracurricular activities and according to him, sports held his passion during his teenage years. He was an active basketball player for the Ravens Basketball team and in 1960 accompanied the team on a goodwill tournament to Trinidad & Tobago, marking the first time he left the shores of Guyana. Football, fencing and gymnastics also held his interest. He also disclosed that for many years he was an altar boy at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church, with a distant eye towards the priesthood.

Pointing out that he has made a handful of return trips to Guyana, Ray said his most recent was in 2014, accompanied by Teohna Williams, one of his English nieces, who wanted to visit his ancestral home. “Trips to the Kaieteur Falls (for which I wrote a poem in tribute, which was published on the Guyanese Achievers website, under poetry), Hosororo and Mabaruma, as well as New Amsterdam among others, fulfilled long-awaited dreams for her, as well as renewed my acquaintance with the Georgetown of my youth.”

Born in Georgetown Guyana on April 2, 1943, Ray Fitzgerald Williams was the youngest of seven siblings, including his late and only sister Pamela. His late father Walter Clarence Christopher Williams was a Guyana postal services supervisor. His late mother Mildred (nee Sobers) a former teacher turned housewife.

Ray’s wife Margaret, a Trinidadian by birth, pursued a career in banking with the ‘Toronto Dominion Bank’ to the level of staff supervisor, and lastly as a mortgage and loans adjudicator before retirement. The union produced two daughters in Karen and Amanda, who have combined to give their parents five grandchildren.