Ray Guzman

For more than 3 decades, Ranulfo "Ray" Mora Guzman told stories and served beer at Naty's Place, the business his mother started in 1954 on Main Street in Brawley. His storytelling was legendary and captivating. Carrying on the family business was just one stop on his journey. He was born in El Dorado, Sinaloa, the son of a fisherman, more than an ordinary fisherman, as Ray would tell that tale. Out of high school, he joined the US Air Force and became a fire specialist while stationed at Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He went on to become a lawyer, practicing law in the beauty of Hawaii. He returned to Brawley to support his mother and become the proprietor that put Naty's Place on a Top 10 list of bars in California on Yelp. It was a unique bar with a unique caretaker. May Ray rest in peace. He was proceeded in death by his Mother, Natividad Guzman Meyer, his father, Ramon Mora, and his sister, Suki Colton. He is remembered by his nieces and nephews, Tyler, Bradford (Dawn), and Kimberly Colton and cousins Mary (Carl), and Helen (Jim).

Services will be Saturday, Nov. 22, at 10am at Frye Chapel, Brawley, with a gathering at noon at Naty's Place. (photo: Scott Rossi)