Raymond Pascal Richards Jr., was born in Corpus Christi on May 14, 1937. Not long after World War II began, Ray's family moved to the Heights where his mother supported the war effort by working at Hughes Tool. There Ray attended Harvard Elementary School until the family moved to Houston proper. There he attended Southmayd Elementary, then Deady Middle School, and Milby High School (class of 1955). Starting in middle school, Ray took wrestling classes at the YMCA. Paul Bosch was his teacher. In high school, Ray played football and participated in ROTC.

When he graduated from high school, Ray joined the U.S. Air Force where he received training in electronics. Most of the four years of his tour of duty, he served on crews of B-36's which endlessly flew half-way to Moscow with a load of hydrogen bombs. While in the Air Force, Ray played football on base teams and became interested in judo.

At the end of his tour, he returned home to Houston and became a Houston Police Department patrolman for seven years. During that time, he enrolled at the University of Houston. The same month that he graduated with his Bachelor's degree, he responded to a request made by San Jacinto College to HPD for anyone who might be interested in teaching in their new Law Enforcement Program. Ray was hired and taught there for 46 years. During those years, he not only taught classes toward an Associate's Degree in Criminal Justice but also conducted academies which prepared students to take the state licensing test, thus serving the needs of smaller police departments which did not have their own academies.

At first this was only a part=time job and even as a full-time faculty member and department head, Ray only had nine-month contracts. This led to his taking on a multitude of part-time, weekend, and summer jobs such as outside insurance adjuster, security officer, body guard, and even a stint with the Texas Amusement Machine Commission. He was a sharp observer of human nature and those jobs gave him a fund of interesting and amusing tales of his experiences with them.

Some time later, Ray enrolled at Sam Houston University where he earned a Master's degree in Vocational Education in 1974.

During these years, he was active in amateur athletics, once serving as president of the Houston Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) and of the Golden Gloves Boxing Association. His growing interest in judo led him to join a dojo in Houston and to grow so proficient that he was Heavyweight Champion three times in Texas, once in the Southeast region, once of the United States, and once as Pan American champion at an international tournament in Rio. He was an early non-Japanese member of the Kodokan Judo Institute in Tokyo where he was awarded his 6th degree black belt. Ray was a founding member of the United States Judo Association and served as the Education Director in the inaugural year of the National Judo Institute in Colorado Springs working with Philip Porter where they trained future national champions and Olympians. His American organization ultimately awarded him a ninth degree black belt. He also held a 5th degree black belt in aikido and a 3rd degree black belt in karate.

Another area of interest for Ray was Freemasonry. He dedicated 25 years to the study of both the York and the Scottish Rites, to memorization of the rituals. and served as Worshipful Master of the Galena Park, Pasadena, and Anson Jones lodges. He belonged to Sampson and other lodges as well as to the Order of the Eastern Star.

Early on, Ray had enrolled in the Southwest College of Law but the demands of the jobs and a growing family led to his dropping out after one year. As the prospect of retirement loomed, he decided to return to law. He had earned an LLB in law by correspondence as part of his insurance work and so was qualified to sit for the District of Columbia bar exam. He was admitted to the D.C. Bar, became a tax attorney, and opened an office on Vista Road as a solo practitioner. Later he was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court. Ray looked back on this time as some of his happiest years.

Ray's working life essentially ended at the age of 80 when he was diagnosed with colon cancer which he survived, followed by a heart condition, and the development of Parkinson's Disease. He died on March 28, 2023 at 85. He was predeceased by his wife of over fifty years, Mary Katherine "Kitty" Kliever and his older son, Raymond Thomas "Bud" Richards. He is survived by his son, Charles Kliever Richards; his grandson, Ray Mason Richards; and his wife at the time of his death, Jan Carol Crenshaw.

The service will be held at First Christian Church of Pasadena, Wednesday, April 5, at 11:00am., with visitation one hour prior to the service. Interment will follow at Rosewood, Humble Cemetery.