Dr. Ray Sanders, Professor of Psychology at the University of Akron, and a member of the Editorial Board, died February 10, 2007, after a long and heroic battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his wife, Mary, and his two children, Brett and Courtney. Ray, who was born November 18, 1940, in El Paso, Texas, received his doctorate in Psychology from the University of Arizona, and had taught at Akron for over 30 years. He enjoyed sports, especially his Dallas Cowboys, as well as all of those sports in which his wife and children participated, as a supportive father and husband, coach, assistant coach, and general sports enthusiast. As a loving husband and father, he was deeply committed to his family.
As a cognitive aging researcher, he was inquisitive and creative, and his work reflected the highest scientific standard of precision and accuracy in terms of not only its design and statistical analysis, but also in the clarity and sophistication of his writing. His work on many aspects of cognitive aging was published in journals such as Psychology and Aging, The Journals of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, Journal of Experimental Psychology, Memory and Cognition, Experimental Aging Research, and Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition. He regularly presented papers at the biannual Cognitive Aging conference, and was a prompt and thorough reviewer of research in cognitive aging for many top aging journals.
As a teacher and mentor, he was without equal. He inspired and challenged his students (myself among them) with his well-prepared and high-level lectures. His support for whatever his students (to include those who had long since graduated) were working on was unquestionably positive, and he had a knack for getting his point across in a manner that was gentle, yet instructive. His self-effacing manner, ability to actively listen, sense of humor, and genuine concern for others endeared him to his many students and colleagues alike.
Simply put, Ray Sanders was a class guy. For those of us lucky enough to have studied under him, as well as for those of us who worked with him as colleagues, our lives will never be the same for having known him. His influence on us as researchers, as teachers, and as individuals will live on in the work we do and how we live our daily lives.
Bert Hayslip Jr.
Associate Editor