Ray Stephen Douglas died peacefully at home in Rio Dell at the age of 65, on April 5, 2021.

Ray was born on Feb. 12, 1956 in Jackson, Tennessee. He moved to Encinitas when he was in elementary school. He attended San Dieguito High School and then Torrey Pines High School. Ray was a gifted athlete and played football and ran track while in high school, and once received a trophy for the most touchdowns in one season for San Diego county. Ray enjoyed watching pro sports and stayed a loyal fan of the San Diego Padres and the Chargers all of his life.

Ray became a father for the first time when his daughter Shayna Douglas was born in October 1976. Ray worked in construction during much of the 1980s, mastering drywall, painting and other indoor finishing work. Ray met his wife, Rose, in 1990, and they were married soon after. They had a son, Ray, in August 1991 and a daughter, Sarah, in April 1993. In 1991 Ray began working at ATI, Inc in Escondido making Snap-On Tools. When that job moved out of state, Ray began working for Sumitomo Metal Mining in Oceanside, making Sony TV and computer screens until that job moved out of the country.

In 2003, Ray and his family moved north to Rio Dell. Ray said of all the places he had lived in California that Humboldt County reminded him most of his beloved hometown in Tennessee. Ray worked at Peterbilt in Eureka and then worked at the Evergreen Pulp Mill as a spout man until the mill closed in 2008. Family was everything to Ray. He called his wife his angel, and he adored his grandchildren.

Ray was an avid motorcyclist since his teens and always wore a bandana to cover his long hair which became his signature look. He was a member of the motorcycle club “The Highway Kings” in San Diego. He loved his custom Harley. When asked what his favorite color was Ray always said it was “chrome”. Ray was well known for his amazing cooking and BBQ, regularly cooking for family, friends, and neighbors. Ray loved music and played guitar. He often shared his favorite music on social media with his friends. Ray had a green thumb like his mother and grew a variety of vegetables and flowers.

Ray was preceded in death by his parents Sarah Florence Thompson and James Stephen Douglas and his grandparents Robert and Beatrice Thompson and RV and Jenny Douglas. Ray is survived by his wife, Rose, his children: Shayna Marie Douglas, Ray Franklin Douglas, Sarah Rose Douglas, and his grandchildren: Destiny, Tayzia, Tamiyah, Alonte, Alanah (Shayna’s children), and Lyla Rei (Sarah’s daughter) and his great grandchildren: Freddie Zayne (Tayzia’s son) and Zimara (Destiny’s daughter), his closest friends/ “brothers”: Frank and Manuel Rodriguez, Larry Thompson, and Henry Williams and as well as his six sisters-in-law, several cousins and many other family and friends.

There will be a memorial service at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1444 Ross Hill Road, Fortuna) on Saturday, May 1, 2021 at 1 p.m. (Social distancing and masks are required.)

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Ray Douglas’ loved ones. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.