Vivian and Ray Menaker

Vivian and Ray Menaker

Longtime Haines resident Ray Menaker died this week at the age of 93 in his home at Haines Assisted Living. Menaker moved to Haines in 1955 with his wife Vivian and three children. He was a school teacher for 20 years. He also served as a borough assembly member, founded the Chilkat Valley News, helped start KHNS and other organizations such as Lynn Canal Community Players and Lynn Canal Conservation. For decades, he hosted a weekly show on KHNS called Tales and Tunes.

 

In Tales and Tunes, Menaker read short stories and played classical music. We have an excerpt from one of those shows, from the 1990s. Throughout that recording you’ll hear from Menaker’s daughter, Terry Lambert, who was in Haines this week.

“I was never allowed to say ‘there’s nothing to do, I’m bored,'” Lambert recalls. “He would take me by the hand and show me the books that were around the shelves around the house and say ‘have you read this one yet?’ There was always something to do, something interesting…He always had an inquiring mind.”

Lambert says her family is planning a memorial service for Menaker at the end of October.