A life putting pedal to the mettle (Ray Howland) (PBP)A life putting pedal to -the mettle
Every community should be blessed
with a Ray Howland.
You probably know someone like
him — not flashy or gregarious or the life
of the parry but a good, solid, common-
sense kind of guy who does the right
thing. If you needed someone to pitch in,
whether it was stuffing envelopes or
making phone calls or running the bike
club when no one else would, Ray was
your man.
At 69, Ray had his
priorities in order: An
unshakable faith, love
for his family and in-
terest in his communi-
ty. Everyone should be
so prepared when
tragedy, in this case a
Candy sport utility vehicle,
Y leaves your family
Hatcher grieving.
Ray was killed
Sunday while bicycling
the back roads of Central Florida. If there
is any consolation, it is that he died doing
what he loved. He and his wife, Edie, were
spending the weekend at the Mount Dora
Bicycle Festival. Ray had started his 25-
mile road tour early so he could get to
Mass. A stickler for safety, he had pulled
well off the road to wait for friends and to
apply sunscreen. An SUV turned left onto
the road where Ray had been riding, but
the driver's turn was too wide. He plowed
into Ray.
Ray, who had survived a serious cy-
cling accident in 1987; died instantly. He
leaves a lifetime of memories for those
lucky enough to have known him. For the
rest of us, he leaves a road map for how to
Ray Howland had his priorities
in order.- unshakable faith, love
for his family and interest in the
community. Then came tragedy.
make the world a better place.
■ Ray, raised in an Irish Catholic
home, was a regular at Mass at St. Clare
Catholic Church in North Palm Beach. He
lived his faith. "His love for community
was an overflow of his faith," recalled Fa-
ther William O'Shea. Before Ray's retire-
ment in 1990, after 10 years as manager of
the village of North Pahn Beach, officials
gave him a country club membership. He
gave it back, saying other residents had
been waiting longer to join.
■ Whether busing tables at the
country club — part of his job during the
early days as village manager — review-
ing contracts as chairman of the Seacoast
Utility Authority, coaching softball or
lobbying government officials for bike
lanes, Ray put his heart into everything he
did. When the West Palm Beach Bicycle
Club president stepped down, and no one
would take the job, Ray stepped in. When
the triathlon club needed help organizing
an event, Ray was there. He was "the level
head," one friend recalled this week.
■ Ray loved and enjoyed his family.
He shared his lifelong passion for base-
ball with his sons, taking them to minor-
league games in upstate New York and
passing along his love for the game to his
grandchildren. One grandson recalls col-
lecting autographs with his grandfather
during spring training games. Another
remembers giggling with him while the
two released a lizard the child had caught.
■ Ray kept his mind sharp and his
body fit. He swam, biked, ran, played and
coached softball. He served on several
government advisory committees. Occa=
sionally, he wrote letters to the editor. He'
once took the Post to task for publishing a
front-page story about public officials who
had not come to work on Good Friday.
What about the nights and weekends-'
they'd spent at the office? he wondered.
In 1987, while Ray was bicycling on ,
State Road AM a car traveling 40 mph hit:
him. He was in the hospital for weeks with
cracked ribs, a broken ankle, stitches;
behind his left knee, back problems and
cuts all over. He overcame the fear that:
accompanies such an accident, got back
on his bike and began talking to local of-
ficials about the need for bike lanes.
Ten months ago, Ray wrote a letter to
the editor, chastising the town of Ocean;
Ridge for refusing to build lanes for the .
hundreds of cyclists who share AlA with
vehicles. He recounted his own accident,,
on a road with no bike lanes and only a
gravel shoulder, and pointed out that the
road now has bike lanes.
"Now„ I am sure Ocean Ridge officials'
will tell me I do not live there and it's none
of my business," he wrote.
And then, using an adage he routinely-
practiced, he continued: "But saving lives ,
is everyone's business."
As usual, bless him, Ray was right. '
Candy Hatcher is an editorial writer for
The Palm Beach Post. Here -mail address is
candy-hatcher@pbpost.com