It is with sadness for the loss, and thankfulness for his life, that we tell you of the passing of Ray Terlaga of New Haven, at the age of 71. He was born in 1953 in Bridgeport, and raised in Ansonia, the only son of the late Joseph E. Terlaga and Rose Bashura Terlaga.
He died in early May under the graceful care of the staff at Yale Smilow Hospital, supported by his partner and wife of 27 years, Charmaine, and some of his closest friends who were privileged to share his final weeks.
Ray was a fascinating, curious man who explored so many different things. He was an excellent amateur wine maker, and tapped his sugar maple trees for maple syrup every year at their second home in Litchfield County. He was a gourmet vegetarian cook and baker.
Ray and Charmaine traveled the world when they could. They went hiking in the deserts and canyons of the American Southwest, including Great Basin in Nevada to see thousand-year-old Bristlecone pines, The Wave in Arizona, and twice crossed the Grand Canyon from rim to rim. They were solar eclipse chasers, including trips to India, Turkey, China, Canada and USA. Even when an eclipse may have been marred or hidden by weather, Ray reveled in the journey, in the exploration of culture and music, and meeting new people wherever he went.
This travel also gave Ray the chance to follow another life-long passion: telescopes and astronomy. Many people in the region got to share that passion with him during his fifty years hosting a Friday evening music program on WPKN-FM in Bridgeport, where he presented a regular segment called “The Skies of Bridgeport” to let the audience know when and where to look in the sky for the coming week. Many of his friends had the chance to peer into the skies with him through his collection of telescopes, and share his fascination.
Ray produced many other special programs for WPKN, including “AIDS Update” during the height of the crisis, and “New Music New Haven,” which he produced with Yale music professor Martin Bresnick. He also used the skills he learned in radio to help produce music recordings and videos for his musician and songwriter friends.
Ray did not always have to look beyond the clouds. Both he and Charmaine were avid hot air balloonists, and FAA licensed balloon and drone pilots, and had the opportunity to fly up into them and look back on the world often. And he did look at the world in interesting ways, chronicling astronomical events, scenic landscapes, and the small details of ordinary life, like in his regular online series of photographs of the mice who invaded his house, as he released them back into the wild, called “The Mouse of the Month.”
Then of course, being a New Havener, there was always pizza with friends. And, no, we’re not saying which place or pie.
Ray’s dry sense of wit, generosity and gentleness of spirit will always be with us.
There is no formal funeral or gathering planned at this time, no special charities, no need for flowers. Charmaine simply asks that you do something kind for someone in his memory, and keep him in your heart for a while.