The Ray Tye Medical Aid Foundation

The Boston Globe – By Kevin Cullen

The rain was relentless, biblical almost, and you half-expected an ark to pull up outside Congregation Mishkan Tefila in Chestnut Hill. But there could have been an earthquake yesterday, and they still would have shown up, the people whose cars spilled out of the parking lot, all along Hammond Pond Parkway, the people who came to say goodbye to Ray Tye.

Minutes before the memorial service began, a bag lady was outside the synagogue, and she was cursing and smoking and demanding to know what was going on. There was a cop, in his dress uniform doing his best to keep her from making a scene. If Ray Tye were alive, he would have taken the bag lady aside, given her a kind word, slipped her 20 bucks, and sent her off with a “God bless.” Inside Rabbi Jonina Pritzker was saying, “Ray was one of the tzadikim, the righteous,” and, boy, did she get that right.
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The Boston Herald,  By Joe Fitzgerald

The extensive coverage of Ray Tye’s death was not only richly deserved, but richly ironic, too, since he was careful not to exalt himself while funneling millions of dollars to people and causes that touched his heart.

Over the years, on so many occasions, he would call here after reading about someone in distress and quietly arrange to provide urgently needed relief.

Readers never knew he did it, and usually the recipients didn’t know either, because that’s how real charity works; it doesn’t take bows or issue press releases.

Ray, who died last week at 87, made his fortune building United Liquors into a wholesaling empire. He fully understood the joy of giving, but also understood the real reward for doing good was simply to have known he did it.   Doing a column on it would have spoiled it for him . Indeed, sometimes the best stories are the ones you can’t write.

So you didn’t read about the first generation American tycoon who called the Salvation Army every year to ask if its Christmas kettle drive needed his help to reach its goal. And you didn’t read about the sports enthusiast who provided uniforms for the squad of inner-city cheerleaders whose personal lives had been ravaged by dysfunctional adults.  Make no mistake, though self-styled celebrities get most of the attention in this town, there are towering examples of integrity, too, operating in the shadows of the limelight.  More than anyone, Ray Tye personified anonymous generosity.

Those who knew what Ray was like will celebrate his deeds today at his funeral. Faith has many expressions, and the lyrics of an old spiritual would surely be right at home in that synagogue this morning:  If I can help somebody as I pass along … then my living will not be in vain.

Goodbye good friend, and God bless.

By Camille Condon, Director, International Office, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
and  Mary Leach, Director of Public Affairs, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary

Twelve year-old Andrea smiles as she tries on eyeglasses in Mass. Eye and Ear’s Optical Shop. The fact that she can wear glasses at all is impressive—up until a few weeks ago the girl had a tumor behind her right eye that had grown to the size of a large grapefruit, destroying the eye and pushing it out of the socket. Doctors from her home country of Romania told her family she had an inoperable tumor and gave her just months to live.

The benign tumor continued to grow for eight years with no help in sight until Andrea’s teacher contacted Dr. Aaron Fay’s office at Mass. Eye and Ear Infirmary and asked for help. The Romanian community raised funds to bring Andrea, accompanied by her father, here for treatment. During several surgeries, Dr. Fay removed the tumor, reconstructed her orbital area and implanted a prosthetic eye.

The care was donated by the Hospital
and Dr. Fay in honor of the late Ray Tye.

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My husband, Ray Tye, died as he lived – in peace and with great dignity. I held
him in my arms as he took his final breath on this earth and I will hold him in my
heart and in my memories forever. He will carry me forward with the firm purpose
of continuing his legacy.

You will read in this newsletter about the immense impact Ray had on the world,
and I would like to tell you, additionally, a little about our marriage that was
characterized by happiness and many blessings. Great love stories have been
written in novels throughout the centuries, but none has surpassed the majesty
of what Ray and I lived privately on a daily basis.  To simply say our lives were
blissful would tell only a fraction of the truth; it would be impossible to adequately
describe the loving partnership we shared on so many levels.

We relished every moment spent together and spoke often about how lucky we
were. The words “I love you” were spoken freely and often, and for us those words
were rich with significance. We held dear a prayer that we said together daily to
guide our married life and bring focus to what is important between two people
committed to a purposeful life together. I can vouch for its power and I would like
to share it with you:
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