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Ray Colvig, manager of UC Berkeley’s Public Information Office for 27 years and a man remembered for his honesty, died Sunday. He was 80.

Colvig was the school’s spokesperson from 1964 to 1991, representing the campus through contentious issues ranging from the Free Speech Movement to the anti-Vietnam War demonstrations, the 1990 Hotel Durant hostage crisis and the 1969 People’s Park protests.

He died at the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center of sudden heart problems.

“He had absolute integrity and did things in a timely manner, and did a great job dealing with many issues for the University,” said John Cummins, a former UC Berkeley associate chancellor and Colvig’s longtime friend.

According to his son Timothy, Colvig’s philosophy was to “be as honest as you can be.” He had an old-school attitude toward running the campus information office, and focused on being a truthful and transparent bridge between the campus and the media, Timothy Colvig said.

“If he saw incorrect facts in a Daily Cal story,” said Cummins, “you’d hear about it.”

According to Charlie Petit, who met Colvig while Petit was working at the San Francisco Chronicle, Colvig was “among the most reliable PIOs in the business,” and a “living history for UC Berkeley.”

“He was the best sort of person,” Petit said. “He was congenial, he was careful and he knew how to tell a joke. He was someone that everyone wanted to have as a favorite uncle.”

According to his son Timothy, Colvig also had a multitude of interests beyond UC Berkeley.

“He had a wide breadth of knowledge about science, literature, music, and held a love of the natural world,” Timothy Colvig said.

“He loved to hike and climb, and to lead his friends,” he said.

Colvig was born in a small house owned by a lumber company in the town of Weed, Calif., at the foot of Mt. Shasta in 1931, Timothy Colvig said. He graduated from a 16-person class at Templeton High School before attending UC Berkeley to study English and Journalism. According to a campus press release, Colvig then went on to receive a master’s degree in English from Cornell University in 1954 before doing a short stint in the Army.

According to the press release, Colvig is survived by two sons, a daughter, five grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. His wife Norma died in 2010.

After his retirement from the campus in 1991, Colvig remained involved with UC Berkeley. He resided in North Berkeley and continued to follow Cal sports as well as attend campus events.

“Fifteen minutes before he passed,” Timothy Colvig said, “he asked what the score of the Cal-Stanford game was.”

 

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