Ray Destabelle
Our beloved, grandfather, father and husband Raymond Fernand Destabelle died Monday January 27, 2025, aged 94.
Ray was born in Butte, Montana on September 21, 1930, to Fernand and Magdalena (Leni) Destabelle, who had emigrated from Belgium and Germany, respectively. Their journey took them through Canada, where his father worked in the coal mines.
His family moved to Ls Crescenta, CA from Butte in 1933, when his father’s music business failed during the depression. His father died of pneumonia when Ray was age 6, just before the widespread availability of antibiotics. After his father died, Ray attended the Page Military Academy in west Los Angeles for two years, coming home on weekends to his aunt and uncle’s home in Glendale.
In 1939, Ray visited the Golden Gate International Exhibition with his mother. While there, he appeared on television, sparking an early interest in electrical engineering.
In 1943, Ray’s mother married Michael Luciano, and the family moved to Washington DC in Michael’s wartime role with the OSS (the forerunner of the CIA). In DC, Ray attended segregated schools, a stark change from his Southern California experience. In 1945 Ray took a three-day solo bus trip across the US back to Glendale to attend Glendale (CA) High School.
Ray matriculated to Caltech in 1948, where he completed a BS EE (1952) and MS EE (1953). He was a loyal member and officer of Throop, a fellowship for commuter students, where he earned his spending money at the poker table.
After college, Ray worked for several Southern California aerospace firms before coming to Hughes Aircraft Company in 1964 At Hughes, he was a Program Manager with increasingly responsible for key defense initiatives. After a long and storied career with Hughes, Ray retired in 1996 after 32 years of service.
In retirement, Ray embraced his Caltech legacy. He was a longtime life member of the Caltech Associates, and a Board member (2002 – 2007). He led the charge on many Class of ’52 scholarship and other fundraising drives and served as an alumni liaison in the SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships) program. In addition to many other Caltech programs, he was a proud member of the Gnome Club.
Ray’s marriage to Kathryn Beatie gave him children Michael and Michelle.
In 1975 Ray met the love of his life, Anne Curry and her five-year-old old daughter Dawn. The three of them were inseparable from that moment forward, with Anne and Ray marrying and Ray adopting Dawn. 2025 is their 50th year together, blending with Ray’s children, Michael and Michelle and their families.
In addition to an active life skiing, sailing, playing tennis and running, Ray made it a priority to coach every one of Michael, Michelle and Dawn’s baseball, soccer and softball teams.
In retirement Ray and wife Anne travelled extensively and have been actively involved with many community organizations, including The Norris Center for Performing Arts, The Palos Verdes Peninsula Village, Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Peninsula Symphony and Omnilore Learning in Retirement. Ray remained actively involved in each of these activities up to the moment of his sudden stroke.
Ray is survived by wife Anne Curry Destabelle, children Michael Destabelle (Jennifer Steele), Michelle Hemphill and Dawn Curry, as well as the world’s most amazing grandchildren Sarah, Nicholas, Kelsey and Wyatt.
There will be a celebration of Ray’s life on Saturday, June 7 at 2pm, at the Pacific Unitarian Church in Rancho Palos Verdes.
Our family thanks you for the outpouring of love and support. In lieu of flowers or other, please consider a contribution in Ray’s memory to Palos Verdes Peninsula Village or Caring House Hospice in Torrance.