November 23, 1934 – August 21, 2024
Harold Cecil Raley was born in Morgan County, Alabama, November 23, 1934 and died August 21, 2024. He was predeceased by his parents William Barthel Raley and Verna Hooper Raley, and sister Geraldine Raley McKenzie, widow of James E. McKenzie. The Raley family relocated to adjacent Cullman County where Harold graduated from West Point High School in 1953. Working at various jobs to raise college money, he graduated from Athens College (Alabama) in 1959 with majors in English and French. He then entered graduate school at the University al Alabama, earning his MA in Romance Languages in 1961 and his PhD in Spanish Studies in 1966. He also studied German, Latin, Portuguese and Hebrew. Spanning over fifty years, he taught Spanish, French and literature at the University of Alabama, North Texas State University and Oklahoma State University, University of Houston, Houston Christian University and Alvin Community College. In 1967, he was named Head of Foreign Languages at Oklahoma State University. In 1977 he accepted the chairmanship of Foreign Languages at the University of Houston and in 1994 was named Dean of Humanities, Scholar-in-Residence and Distinguished Professor at Houston Christian University. He lectured at universities in the United States, Canada, Spain and Colombia, South America. He also found time to serve his community on the Friendswood Library Board for several years and two terms on the Friendswood City Council (1990-1994) the second as Mayor Pro-tem.
Harold wrote six books of fiction, twenty on languages, philosophy, history and theology; authored scores of newspaper columns on history, science, and intellectual topics; and dozens of professional articles and book reviews. He also translated several books, saw several of his books translated into Spanish and wrote extensively in Spanish himself. In his later years, prominent intellectuals in Spain and Latin America call him “the foremost hispanist of our time.”
He joined the U.S. Army Reserves in 1953, did basic training and was honorably discharged in 1961. He was proud of his marksmanship of the firing range, scoring highest in his training unit at Fort jackson. He attributed hit to “having grown up with guns.” However, he disliked killing animals and gave up hunting entirely as a young man.
In 2000, in collaboration with son David Raley, PhD, he founded Halcyon Press, a successful book publishing enterprise. Although publications were suspended in 2012 to give Harold a failed try at retirement and to allow David to make a successful entry into Academia as a professor of history, the company continues to generate income.
Harold was Baptist by family tradition and early conversion. Later he migrated to the Episcopal Church but found much to admire in nearly all Christian traditions from Catholicism to Quakerism. Nothing truly Christian was alien to him. Well-read in the Bible since childhood, he taught Bible classes several times during his life.
Harold is survived by his wife of 62 years Vicky Gonzalez Raley; children from his first marriage: Landy Raley (Marsha McKay Raley), Phyllis Raley Murphy (Darryl Murphy), Susan Raley Gregg (Duan Gregg); from his marriage to Vicky; Laura Raley Borda (Guillermo Borda), Ana Raley Dison (Thomas Dison), David Raley (Taryn Beshara Raley). Surviving siblings: Darrell Raley (Janet Goodson Raley), Janice Raley Powell (Auburn Nethery), Joyce Raley Lowry. Ten grandchildren: Lindsay, Collier, Brandon, Suzanne, Trudie, Julian, Sebastian, Olivia, William and Michael. Nine great grandchildren, several cousins and many nieces and nephews.
Friends are cordially invited to join the family for a visitation on Friday, August 30, 2024, at 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM at Jeter Memorial Funeral Home, 311 North Friendswood Dr., Friendswood, Tx. 77546. (281) 992-7200. The Funeral Service will be held on Saturday, August 31, 2024, at 11:00 AM at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, 1207 Winding Way Dr. Friendswood, Texas 77546. The burial will follow at 2:00 PM at Friendswood Friends Cemetery.
9 thoughts on “Harold Cecil Raley”
Our dear friend, Harold, lives in our hearts forever. He will be missed and always remembered . Condolences to the family.
Rest in peace ! You were loved
Harold was a good man. I always thought he was the smartest cousin in the room! Because of his example, I thought that I could achieve whatever I set my mind to do. Harold had a good life. He will be missed by family and friends.
I am so sorry for your loss. He was a brilliant man, and I will always remember his warm smile. Thinking of your family; may you find peace and comfort in the days ahead.
I was very privileged to call Harold a mentor and a friend. I was so "green" when elected to City Council, I quickly learned that when Harold was speaking, I was listening. He always spoke clearly and concisely on any issue before us. His calm demeanor and gentlemanly charm was always on display. If you were in his presence you were blessed by his knowledge and grace. We will miss you. My deepest condolences to Vicky and all his beloved family members.
May the strength of our Lord be with you all.
Such a gentle soul and wise man. It was one of the great honors of my life to get to know him. I'll never forget his infection laugh and keen sense of humor.
Dear Vicky, Ana and Family:
We are very sad about Harold's passing.
He was a very warm person whom we held in the highest regard.
We always learned a lot from our conversations with him. We will miss him.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Warm hugs from Lino and Miriam
Here in Friendswood, Texas for thirty-plus years I was very well-acquainted with this forthright man, across many forums.
Church, community, government, against TxDot on fm518, on the very grounds of Houston Baptist University, publishing, books, Sunday School, the Real World.
Lastly in recent times at Kroger, at the Post Office, I was blessed to see him, joyously briefly converse with him.
I always had nothing but the greatest respect and admiration for Harold Raley. The man had Christian convictions. Stoically. Matter-of-factly.
This man was not afraid of evil, not afraid to stand up to evil. He did not compromise with evil. I’m sure I know it cost him.
“Blessed in His sight is the death of one of His saints”
“Well done, thy good and faithful servant”
“Ener into the joy of thy Lord”
My sincerest condolences Vicki.
May God comfort you, until such time as you are re-united.
We were deeply saddened to read in the Houston Chronicle of the passing of Harold Raley. He was a man of many interests and many achievements: degrees in English and French language and literature, Romance Languages and Spanish Studies. He studied and spoke multiple languages, was a capable administrator, a chair of academic departments and Dean of Humanities as well as a Scholar in Residence. Harold was a true “Renaissance Man” of the academic world. He was appropriately honored as a “foremost Hispanist of our time.” Yet beyond the academic world, during his service in the Army Reserve, he was an excellent marksman, though, characteristically, he disliked killing animals. He was community-oriented, serving on the local library board and was elected to local city council where he served as Mayor-Pro-tem. On a personal level, he had a wonderful, charming personality. Especially during their early years in Houston, my wife, Bertha, and I greatly enjoyed socializing with Harold and Vicki. They both laughed easily and were a joy to be with. Their kids were the same age as our kids so there were several joint family outings. We send our love to Vicki and the family and will appropriately have a tree planted in Harold’s honor, an outdoorsman as well as a highly accomplished academic.