In Memory of Timothy Ray

Timothy Ray, whom we will remember clearly for his infectious, bellowing laugh, environmental passion, joyous, yet competitive spirit, and near-infinite charity, suffered a heart attack and passed away on the morning of May 16th, 2011. He was, and continues to be, well loved and is sorely missed.

At the finish of the 2009 Wildflower triathlon, Tim was announced at the finish line as "The Great Timothy Ray", but it is doubtful that the announcer knew the full extent of those words. Of course, you would never know Tim's greatness given his understated and humble nature. Within the UCSD triathlon team the only things that eclipsed his dedication and impressive race performances were his camaraderie and the energy he put forth reducing the team's environmental impact. Tim focused especially on making our team's races more sustainable and was the driving force behind our green initiative. At Scripps Institute for Oceanography, where he studied, he collaborated with many of his peers on environmental initiatives ranging from trash pickups at the beach to effecting policy changes at the state and national level.

At heart, Tim was an adventurer and lived his life as such. Things that many of us consider crazy or impossible were his reality. He traveled the world and sought refuge in the wilderness, backpacking or canoeing for days at a time. He had plans to swim from one end of California to the other, stopping along the way to talk to students about climate change. In the past year, Tim focused on running ultramarathons and had already completed several. While his focus shifted away from triathlons, he still maintained contact with members of our team, lending both advice and encouragement to those that needed it.

We, along with the larger triathlon community, are lucky to call Tim a part of our family and offer our condolences to all of his friends and family. Rest in peace, Tim. We treasure everything that you shared with us.

-- The Members of the UCSD Triathlon Team

Memories of Tim

Tim touched all of our lives in so many different ways. If you have fond memories of Tim, please feel free to share them here. They will be included below.

Other tributes to Tim can be found at:

• http://timothyray.org/
• Scripps Institute of Oceanography