Darn it Ray, we're supposed to be partying today, and you're supposed to be buying because it's your birthday! I'll just hold on to my Claremont memories of us debating Hausa-Ibo relations in Nigeria, the viability of the two state solution in Israel, US chrome imports from apartheid South Africa...darn it Ray, who am going to talk to now? We're the only two people in the world who know everything! I MISS YOU!!

Remembering the forty-ninth anniversary of Ray's first visit to Brooklyn and NYC. Ray and I were freshman-year roommates at Vassar College. His birthday was the 6th (a Friday), mine was the 8th (a Sunday), and we spent the weekend in New York with my family. What a weekend we had.!! We returned to school Sunday afternoon with a birthday cake my mother had baked for us. Ten other schoolmates were on the commuter train taking us from Grand Central Terminal to Poughkeepsie, NY. Before I knew it, Mr. Charm&Personality had organized a party in our dormitory suite.!! We REALLY celebrated that evening and it spawned an annual party we called the LibraLove party. I can modestly attest that it was the best party the Black students threw all year (of course, it was usually our first of the school year). Collegiates from colleges in neighboring states regularly partied with us. Thanks for the memories, your brilliance, and your brotherly friendship, my brother. You were unique and special -- both at the same time. Continue resting in eternal peace RambunctiousRay.  

I received an alert that today was Ray’s birth date. It startled me as this is also my parent’s former anniversary date. Reminiscing about these two truths simultaneously is unsettling. Such losses are never easy to accept. Ray was a fellow Libran and the tributes here acknowledge the hallmark attributes of this birth sign. To that end, what can one say about a person who was so self-actualized? How does one process the end of a life well-lived. As I struggle with these queries, I am reminded today what a profound loss Ray’s passing is and will continue to be…

Raymond,
You deposited so much in my life. I am still feeling the great loss. When I think of you, I become heart broken. We talked for hours about our personal lives. You were truly a friend (60 years) that left footprints and push me to thrive on every level. You were compassionate, educated and sensitive to the needs of the less fortunate. I know that God will take care of you. Gone to soon. I miss you dearly...

My condolences to Ray's family and loved ones.
I attended the Claremont Colleges where i met Ray and Vikki!
I concur with his friends that Rays smile and free spirit were infectious. Often, Ray would stop by my dorm, just to expound and finish up a debate he and i refused to concede! Lol 
Ray was a fun and brilliant man. I felt honored to meet and know a strong, loving intellect!

I just learned of Ray's transition yesterday. Because surely he has transitioned and manifested in a big way in his new realm. What a loss to those of us left behind on Earth. I'm am truly glad our paths crossed at Vassar in the college center that day. He will never be forgotten. Ray has made sure of that. I have some great pics that I will certainly dig out and set aside. If anyone in his family would like to contact me for them, please feel free. karenw@nyc.rr.com   Live Long and Prosper Ray wherever you now exist. Karen

I've been thinking of Ray for so much since I learned of his passing. I'm heartened to see the posts of so many of his friends and family here, many of whom I knew or knew of. Ray was part of my life from our Claremont days and early DC days. He and Vikki were my dearest friends, my roommates, my go-to people, my neighbors, my family, my people. I will always miss talking, laughing, dancing, arguing with Ray. His presence filled a room the minute he stepped into it. I'm grateful that he was such a big part of who I am and have become. Love to all who loved Ray, and to all whom Ray loved.

I am saddened by the passing of Ray. We both met for the first time in South Africa in 2006 where we served as diplomats. He was such an engaging person. He and Esther were very welcoming and generous. Very soon he became one of my friends. I would enjoy his parties and the professional advice he would give me while manoevring the South African posting. Our paths crossed again when in 2012 he served for the second time in Jamaica as Deputy Ambassador. We engaged both professionally and socially. I truly miss him but am happy that our paths had crossed. So long Ray. Walk Good.
Joan and Albert

I joined the Foreign Service with Ray Brown in 1985 and we kept in touch every so often. The spirit of the 25th Class lives on! And what a great visit to him in Caracas, pre-Chavez etc., during my second tour. Rest In Peace my friend.

I was a classmate of Ray's at Vassar. Ray was in my wedding to a fellow Vassar grad. Vassar was a dress rehearsal for the diplomatic work that would become Ray's life.  He fluidly moved between many different worlds. He could hold court playing 2 on 2 basketball, take center stage in the classroom as a powerful orator, and lend his voice to the debate in the college's lunchrooms where all the important conversations were had. He was a natural. It seemed to come so easy for him! He was smart and charismatic with an eccentric sense of humor. We had an instant and lasting connection.  Our freshman year, Ray and I each bought 22 Valentine's cards for all 44 sisters in our class so that they would feel special. Although I will miss him, I know that his light will never be extinguished. He will forever live in my memories and in my heart! I will see you again, my brother!

Learning of the death of Raymond Brown has been a very saddening experience for me. Ray was my son-in-law for many years and although we held different viewpoints on several of the issues of our times---political, social, cultural and other contemporary matters, we were a dependable friend and a respected colleague to each other.
His thoughts and ideas were always a welcomed and a appreciated addition to the conversations and discussions we had during the times he and my daughter, Victoria, were geographically near to me. His scholarly, reflective and reasoned input on almost any subject will be deeply missed as he is long and dearly remembered.

I was truly saddened to learn of Ray's passing. I knew him at Vassar and he was a presence to be reckoned with! His professional success came as no surprise. Ray was one of the few black male students on campus when I arrived my freshman year. Such a strong and vibrant personality, he will be missed. I remember the dancing, the laughter and the intellectual conversations. So many great memories of the time spent in Kendrick House. I have no doubt he left an impression on everyone who met him! He was West coast, I was East coast, and we had a special friendship I will always cherish. 
Rest in peace, my brother! May God comfort your family at this time and in the days, weeks and months ahead.

It was with deep saddest and regret that I learned of the passing of Raymond Brown. I first met Ray when he served as Political Counselor in South Africa when I was the Principal Deputy in the Africa Bureau. Ray had an illustrious diplomatic career and left a strong legacy at the Department of State. He will be missed but not forgotten. Sadly, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Former Assistant Secretary for Africa.

Ray Brown was a classmate of mine at Vassar College class of 1976. He was a fun loving intelligent young man. When he was around, people always felt better. He definitely had a presence. As I write this remembrance, I feel his spirit surrounding me. Rest in heavenly peace my brother. I will miss you but we’ll meet again one day.

A 2007 State Department Black History Month Profile of Ray Brown
Raymond L. Brown is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and is the Counselor of Embassy for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa. From July 7, 2003 to July 2006, he served as Director of the Orientation Training Division at the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State where he was responsible for overseeing implementation of seven orientation programs for all categories of new Department of State employees.
Dr. Brown returned to the U.S. in June 2002, after serving two years in The Sudan as the Charge' d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, where he was instrumental in pursuing the successful Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Government of The Sudan and the southern Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army. During the academic year 2002-2003, he attended the National War College at Fort McNair, Washington, D.C. from which he received a Masters' Degree in Strategic and Security Studies.
He began his Foreign Service career in 1985 after an academic and professional consulting career emphasizing international relations, conflict resolution, and economic development issues. He grew up in Los Angeles, and later attended Vassar College (B.A., 1976), the American University in Cairo (Junior Year Exchange Student, 1974), the Monterey Institute of Foreign Studies (Arabic Language, 1976), and the Claremont Graduate School of International Relations (Ph.D., 1982).
Dr. Brown's Foreign Service career has included overseas assignments at American Embassies in the Caribbean, South America, and Africa regions.

I first heard about Ray Brown (always referred to by 2 names) during my Junior year. I marveled at his masterful use of grants funds to pursue his passions, especially higher education. When he became a PhD, I made an unspoken commitment, I would do the same --in a similar fashion. Ray was a tour de force. I was so happy to meet him and reconcile the myth with the flesh and blood man. I found myth and man were not so divergent. What an illustrious career and life Ray lived! I hope his loved ones and friends find solace in these two truths, as I do.

I met Raymond Louis Brown mid-September 1972. I arrived on campus at Vassar College toward the end of Black freshman orientation but at the beginning of freshman orientation (I wasn't missing my last parent-funded Bermuda vacation for anything), stepped out of our car, and was greeted by a chorus of two screaming my name. Loudly.!! He and I were two of the four Black men in our freshman class of five hundred and we were roommates. We were in the third coeducational class, which meant we were double integrationists: racially and gender-wise. Ray was a brilliant, delightful, personable, funny, witty brother - and we were both Libras. Our dormitory had over one hundred students, five of whom were Black, and Ray exhibited his diplomatic acumen from day one. There were very few he didn't care for. He was a natural bridge builder. He laughed easily and danced heartily. Sharing a class with him was always an uncharted experience. I wanted to vomit the day he told one professor, "Sister Berkley, you are the epitome of Black motherhood".!! My God, how we howled about that one - all I had to do was mimic him and we screamed at the memory.!! My four years of undergraduate school were made more interesting because of his presence and influence. I still cherish the photograph his fellow screaming greeter, he, and I took commencement morning in front of Sander's Chemistry building. True to form, this independent man opened his gown, ditched his cap, and had the most confident and victorious look on his face because we'd prevailed in the midst of a grand experiment. I lament that our Black male contingent has been reduced by twenty-five percent at his untimely loss. I will miss him at reunions.... I will miss his brilliance and wit.... I will miss his hilarious, riotous laugh.... Sleep comfortably and rest well in eternal peace, Dr. Brown.

Everyone who knew Ray understood that he was driven. He was motivated to succeed and he was very unique. Let's celebrate his life. Raymond did what he could do with this life. He did well! I knew Ray at Vassar College but I got to know him better after college. Somehow we kept in touch. Black Americans who choose careers in international diplomacy, international trade, international development and the like, are close. We run into one another all over the world. Ray and I had a special connection.  I visited him when he was with the State Department in Barbados. I knew Vicky Marshall before he married her and after they divorced. I met two of Ray's children when they were very young and was a colleague and friend of one of Ray's cousin's (Ellis Brown). I don't know how to continue this tribute to Ray Brown. So, I will end here. There is so much I would like to say but cannot now find the words.