For Ray… and all of us,
Ray Dene Stanford, a most extraordinary individual, passed away on June 14, 2025 at the age of 86.
In his lifetime, Ray experienced a number of significant UFO sightings, beginning in 1954 with a late-night encounter on South Padre Island,
Texas. This event, witnessed by 11 people, including a Texas State Highway Patrolman and two Deputy Sheriffs, was photographed on black and white film using a small-aperture Kodak camera. The brilliant domed disc changed from an orange-amber color to a much brighter ‘Kelly
green’ as it passed overhead at high speed. This encounter was later featured on the cover of FATE magazine for May of 1956.
As his experience grew, Ray became a strong advocate of instrumented UFO research, eventually acquiring equipment to measure both magnetic
and gravitational fields, as well as better photographic and film equipment with much more powerful lenses. Many of his later images were taken using a Canon camera and a 1000 millimeter lens, allowing for much better images of distant objects (…as Ray once said to me in a humorous moment, “If you’re going to shoot ‘em, shoot ‘em with a Canon!”).
One of the most important goals of this fundraiser is to digitize as many of Ray’s films as possible for subsequent research. Almost exactly one year before Ray passed away, a respected aerospace engineer sought him out and they began work on a book centered on one of Ray’s most profound films. This film was successfully authenticated and digitized, and soon after I was asked to assist them.
Ray was known for his visual acuity and eye for subtle detail, as well as emphasizing the importance of looking for atmospheric effects around these mysterious vehicles. Many of his still photographs are eye-opening to see, but his films -- and the multitude of individual frames in them -- present even more compelling possibilities. The goal is to have them digitized at a world-class film laboratory, for Ray and all of us.
With Ray’s passing, I pray he is again enjoying being with his twin brother, Rex, a respected parapsychologist and professor, who passed in 2022. Ray’s enthusiasm for the subject will be missed. If we each have a purpose in life, then gathering evidence of the UFO phenomenon was certainly one of Ray’s. His lifelong hope was to see his material used to further science-based research, and now it is up to the rest of us to see and study and learn from his material.
Eventually, Ray’s material will need to be housed at a respected repository, a decision still in the making. We respectfully ask for your support. No gift is too small, and your generosity will be greatly appreciated.
(Please note that Spotfund charges no fees of their own for this fundraiser, so please consider tipping to support the platform itself. You can select any amount or none, it's your choice. Thank you!)
-Christian Lambright
