February 1st, 2007
Janet and James Walkie Ray are some of the most hard-working people in the community. Yet they somehow manage to be two of the communities most involved philanthropists. Walkie served as chairman on the board of the Orange County High School of the Arts and chairman of the building committee of Sage Hill School. He was also one of the major founders of the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana and served eight years as the chairman of the board, and along with his wife, were responsible for the site acquisition, design, construction, and fund-raising that went into the state-of-the-art 28-million dollar interactive science museum. In fact, the street leading directly to the center is aptly named Walkie Way. Janet has chaired numerous events for many, many organizations. She started the community support group for OCHSA, and for the last six years has been heavily involved with the Ballet Pacifica, which she served as president of the board. Further, she s involved in the renovation of the Balboa Performing Arts Theater, which will function as a multi-use, technologically superior venue. Both Rays are also currently involved with The Orange County Great Park, which is being built on the land that was formerly the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. The area, which is almost twice the size of Central Park, will function as a major metropolitan facility. Walkie is currently on the Great Park Corporation, which is the entity primarily responsible for managing the design, construction, and management of the Great Park. Janet serves as co-chair for the park s second upcoming Jewel of Orange County Gala that will take place this May.
Although their achievements and philanthropic work are among the brightest in the community, it is their story, the story of Janet and Walkie that truly shines.
We met at the bus stop. I was in the 3rd grade, and Walkie was in the 4th grade, Janet says. Walkie also remembers their first meeting. When I first saw her, I was scared of her because she was a girl, he says, remembering those years when boys didn t like girls.
Through the years, Janet became friends with his sister and it really wasn t until high school when things between the two started to solidify. Yes, I recall some dates here and there. In fact, on one of these dates, we had a steak sandwich and the bill came out to be about eight or nine dollars. I remember commenting on what an expensive date she was. She still has the receipt, Walkie says. Janet first noticed Walkie for his insistent curiosity to learn and because he was and still is one of the smartest people that she knows.
When Walkie graduated high school, he moved north to attend Stanford and they remained friends. That first year we often exchanged mail and I made an arrangement with her. I convinced her to send me homemade chocolate chip cookies for free, which her mother thought was a horrible economic arrangement, but I don t remember her doing too much arguing, he says. Janet also attended Stanford after high-school. They began dating again, yet according to Walkie, Janet took off to study abroad in Austria for two quarters. But I was persistent, I just kept on calling. Then on Christmas, we were both home, and she called me and asked me to go sailing. We had a good time and I thought it bore some fruit, so I asked her to join me Easter break in Ensenada, which was where I proposed.
Today, Janet believes that Walkie and her work so well together because they balance each other out him being the spontaneous one, while she being the more structured. Walkie says that Janet has been a great wife and fantastic mother to five wonderful children, all of who are healthy and possess great values. I naively thought that Janet would take them to a certain age and I would take on thereafter...teach them about the real world...but by the time it was time for me to take over, all of the real values had been implemented. And it s all because of her, Walkie says.
Recently, the Ray s eldest daughter, Lysanne, gave birth to a baby girl, Sage. She is their fourth grandchild. So after 37 years of marriage, the Rays are still going strong and looking forward to many more years of laughter and happiness.
Jenny Y. Wang