Ray Clayton Roberts

Houghton: Ray Clayton Roberts, Jr, 94, of Houghton, passed away on Thursday afternoon, March 29, 2018 at the Houghton County Medical Care Facility in Hancock.

     He was born on November 10, 1923 in Changsha, China to the late Ray Clayton and Eva (Rewalt) Roberts. Following high school graduation, he received degrees from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington; the University of Washington in Seattle; and his Doctorate Degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He was a Professor of English History at Ohio State University from 1952 until retirement in 1991.

     He was married to Margaret Anne Vail on August 23, 1952. They celebrated 65 years of marriage in 2017.

     He was a Fellow of the Royal Society of England and was a member of several historical associations. He was a member of the Columbus Figure Skating Club and belonged to tennis clubs. He was also a trail captain of the Bruce Trail Conservancy in Canada.

     He led antiwar demonstrations during the Vietnam War; campaigned for Eugene McCarthy in the 1968 presidential campaign; and wrote frequent letters to the editor of the Daily Mining Gazette on various liberal ideas and subjects.

     He will be remembered as a kind man who was interested in learning all of his life. For Clayton, rationality was the highest goal. He taught his students and his children to reason from evidence. He wrote a textbook on English history and three books on the political history in 17th century England. He also wrote a book entitled “The Logic of Historical Development”.

     Besides his parents, he was also preceded in death by 2 brothers and a sister. He is survived by his wife Anne of Houghton, four children, and seven grandchildren.

     There will be a memorial service at 2:00 P.M. on Saturday, June 16, 2018 at the O'Neill-Dennis Funeral Home in Hancock.

     Memorials in lieu of flowers may be directed to Bruce Trail Conservancy, P.O. Box 857, Hamilton, Ontario L8N 3N9 Canada.

     The O'Neill-Dennis Funeral Home of Hancock is assisting with the arrangements.

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