Alicia Louise Ray

January 21, 1962—July 24, 2016

Alicia Louise Ray, 54, died peacefully on July 24, 2016, at her home in Lincoln, California, surrounded by family.

A seventh-grade language arts and history teacher at Antelope Crossing Middle School, Alicia fell ill with cancer in late April.

The third of five busy children, Alicia grew up in Napa, California. Always interested in the performing arts, as a girl Alicia began studying ballet with her mother at Silverado Ballet School. She also studied piano, and sang with several vocal groups at Napa High School, where she graduated in 1980.

It was ballet that had her heart and she danced briefly as a girl with San Francisco Ballet, and danced with Silverado Ballet Troupe all over northern California and on performing trips to Japan. She also taught at the Silverado Ballet School and studied in New York at the American Ballet Theater School.

Alicia studied speech pathology and audiology at San Diego State University. After graduation she worked as a sign language interpreter for several years, before moving into education, teaching first at Shearer Elementary School in Napa. Later she moved to the Sacramento area where she has taught seventh-grade history and language arts at Antelope Crossing Middle School since the school opened 22 years ago.

“You teach seventh grade?!” people often asked. Alicia responded always with modesty and good humor, bringing enthusiasm and good cheer to everyone in her orbit.

As a single mother to three boys, she also had a great deal of practice with adolescents. Family was everything to her. Prominent on the wall of Alicia’s home is a metal artwork that says: “The most important things in life aren’t things.”

Alicia lived by that every moment. She leaves her sons: Quinton Barnett, 22, a student at Arizona State University, Prestin Barnett, 20, a student at University of Chicago, and Carson Oakes, 18, who recently graduated from Antelope High School.

Alicia’s mother, Shirley Carson Ray, passed away just last summer. Her father Charles Ray, lives in Napa. Her siblings are Karen Ray, of San Francisco, Danny Ray, of Linden, Michigan, Sabrina Newsome of Roseville, and David Ray, also of Roseville.

A memorial service for Alicia Ray will be held at 10 a.m. August 6 at Mount Vernon Memorial Park, 8201 Greenback Ln. Fair Oaks, California. Reception to follow at Antelope Crossing Middle School, 9200 Palmerson Dr., Antelope, California.

Donations in lieu of flowers are suggested to: Bristol Hospice Foundation, 206 North 2100 West, Suite 202, Salt Lake City, UT 84116 or The Heifer Project, 1 World Avenue, Little Rock, AR, 72202.