Ray Bennet Goldstein

Ray Bennet Goldstein passed away peacefully in his sleep surrounded by his loving family on November 9, 2025, in Houston, Texas. Ray was born on January 29, 1958 in Chicago, Illinois to Raphael Goldstein (Buddy) and Harriet Lee Miller. They moved to Houston, and his beloved brother Ronny was born four years later.
Ray is survived by his wife of 39 years, Mary K. Wall, his son Douglas and wife Lynnsey, his daughter Leila, and his brother Ronny. He is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Ray's happy childhood in Houston centered around his close, loving family - parents Buddy and Harriet and brother Ronny. He created friendships that lasted a lifetime. His favorite things included his Stingray bicycle, James Coney Island hotdogs, reading voraciously and playing chess with his Dad. In high school he joined the debate club-spending many hours in the debate shack, "borrowing" books from Rice Library for his research and competing in debate tournaments near and far. He and his partner Richard "never lost a debate," despite how the judges sometimes ruled.
Ray was in Plan II at the University of Texas, receiving a BA with Honors in Economics and a BS with Honors in Mathematics. He earned a JD from the University of Texas School of Law, and an LLM in Environmental Law from George Washington University Law School.
After four years at a private law firm in Austin, Ray joined the Department of the Navy as a civilian attorney, where he would remain for his entire career, living and working on multiple continents with different Navy commands (in Washington, DC, Japan and Singapore). He loved working with Navy colleagues and taking on challenging cases (his favorite case involved the return of a Navy truck). He loved mentoring, and the opportunity to guide younger lawyers.
The best part of working for the Navy was the opportunity to travel overseas. Ray's wanderlust created an exciting life for him and his family. He spent nine years working in Japan and three years in Singapore. Living abroad was a great adventure, and he treasured the friendships and experiences from those postings.
Retiring in Houston to be closer to family, Ray rediscovered chess and played tournament chess with his son Doug. Ray played four rated chess tournaments across Texas (Houston, Austin and Dallas) and retired from tournament chess at his rating peak.
Ray's most recent overseas travel was to Cambodia to visit his daughter Leila and her cat Moochie. Ray and Mary K enjoyed visiting many local restaurants with Leila and her friends, and shopping for ouk chaktrang (Cambodian chess) pieces.
His eccentric interests included bulldog mascots, rugby 7s and kokeshi dolls. He loved to cook, trying new recipes and spices, and had a never-ending quest to make the perfect chana masala.
Ray will be remembered for his voluminous texts, quirky presents, and most of all for his deep love of his family and friends. Ray will be dearly missed by all of us.
A service will be held in the chapel at Woodlawn Funeral Home on November 13, 2025 at 10 a.m.
Donations in memory of Ray can be made to The Book Cycle instead of flowers. https://thebookcycle.org/how-to-donate/