Dr. David Allan Ray

Dr. David Allan Ray died peacefully at his home in Philadelphia, PA on April 1, 2026. He was 75. He is survived by his loving wife, Dr. Melody “Mimi” Bruce, his three children, Isaac Ray (Dr. Kathryn Hefner Ray), Dr. Margaret Ray (Dr. Benjamin Everett), and Arielle Ray (Dr. Andrew Siliciano), and his five grandchildren, Ella Ray, Colton Ray, Annabelle Everett, Emma Everett, and Lilia Siliciano.

Dr. “Dave” Ray was a proud graduate of Amherst College and SUNY Downstate Medical School. He completed his internal medicine residency at Albany Medical Center, and chose to devote most of his 40+ year career to caring for some of the sickest and most vulnerable patients in Albany. He specialized in HIV medicine, entering the field in the early 80s when little was known about the virus, and was on the cutting edge of medicine through the arc of his career. A brilliant and compassionate physician, he was especially gifted at taking care of the whole person. He was deeply versed in social determinants of health and was a fierce advocate for his patients’ rights within the complexity of the American healthcare system. Dave spent most of his working years at Whitney M. Young Health Center in Arbor Hill before transitioning to an academic position at Albany Medical Center. Even as his own health was failing, he taught groups of medical students over Zoom, passing on his deep sense of commitment and the importance of advocacy to a new generation of young doctors.

But Dave liked to say that being a physician was his “day job.” At night and on weekends, he was a gifted violinist, rehearsing and playing gigs throughout the Albany Capital Region, the Berkshires, New York City, and New Orleans. He played jazz, bluegrass, folk, klezmer, and traditional tunes, making friends and connections through music wherever he went. He was also a major supporter of the Albany Symphony Orchestra.

Dave was a committed member of B’nai Sholom Reform Congregation in Albany. He served as synagogue president and played his violin for the Kol Nidre service each year. He led a life deeply rooted in Jewish values, tradition, and humor.

When Dave wasn’t practicing medicine, music, or Judaism, he was a passionate outdoorsman. He loved to bicycle, hike, paddle, camp, swim, and sail. He had an extraordinary amount of energy, and was consistently capable of exhausting his wife and three children, who always tried to keep up.

His adventurous spirit, brilliant mind, quick wit, and dedication to tikkun olam (the Jewish value of making the world a better place) will be missed.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend the funeral service in the chapel of Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd. in New Orleans, on Wednesday, April 8, 2026 at 10:00AM. A gathering time will be held at the funeral home beginning at 9:30AM. The interment will follow the chapel service at Hebrew Rest Cemetery No. III.

A memorial service is planned for May 24, 2026 at B’nai Sholom Reform Congregation in Albany, NY.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Dr. Ray’s memory to PNHP (Physicians for a National Health Program), www.pnhp.org, Capital Roots, www.capitalroots.org, and / or Habitat for Humanity, www.habitat.org.

To view and sign the online guest book, please visit www.lakelawnmetairie.com