Margaret Ann Ray

Margaret Ann Ray, April 4,1935 to March 14, 2026
Margaret (Peggy) Ann Ray, nee Selsdorf, passed away on Saturday March 14th, 2026, at her home in San Francisco, CA. She was 90 years old.
Margaret was born in Chicago, IL on April 4, 1935, to the late Elizabeth (nee Armamentos) and James D. Selsdorf. She grew up in Chicago and Wonder Lake, IL with her parents and two siblings, Jean and Richard. After graduating from McHenry High School, she attended Northwestern University, earning a B.S. in Journalism in 1956. After college, she moved to New York city where she worked as a journalist for Forbes Magazine until 1961. While working and traveling in Europe, she met the late Peter Ray. The two married and had two children, Meghan and Christopher.
Margaret worked as an editor and proofreader for MacMillan Publishing, as a reporter at a small local newspaper as well as in various administrative jobs until she returned to school in 1985, earning a M.A. from Columbia Teachers College. From that time until she retired in 2001, Margaret taught language and writing skills and vocational education in NYC public schools and community centers.
During her career, she participated in developing a curriculum on conflict resolution for NYC public school system as part of the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP), edited the newsletters for the international organization Network for Peace Through Dialogue from 1985 to 2015,* and spent thousands of hours coordinating local political action events.
Beginning in the 1970’s, Margaret joined the Re-evaluation Counseling community and was very involved as a teacher and participant for the rest of her life. This network provided great comfort and support up to her last days.
Passionate about social and environmental justice, Margaret was an active participant and organizer on a range of issues. She was a committed pacificist and was unshakable in her belief in the essential goodness of humankind. This belief informed all areas of her life and was her guiding philosophy.
She is survived by her children, Meghan (Eric), Chris (Nancy), granddaughter, Cameron, her sister, Jean, and many nieces and nephews. She will be missed.

*Currently held in the Schlessinger Library, Harvard Radcliffe Institute. https://hollis.harvard.edu/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma990145969260203941&context=L&vid=01HVD_INST:HVD2&lang=en&search_scope=MyInstitution&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=LibraryCatalog&query=any,contains,network%20for%20peace%20through%20dialogue&offset=0