Colston Rice-Wray

Colston Ruhi Rice-Wray (October 17, 1906 - March 9, 1977) was an early American Bahá’í.

Biography

Rice-Wray was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1906 to parents Theron Canfield and Mabel Landon Rice-Wray. he had an older brother Landon Carter, who passed in infancy, and an older sister Edris. His mother had become a Bahá’í in the 1890's and while his father was not an adherent he did respect ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

In 1909 the family moved to Los Angeles where Rice-Wray's mother became an active Bahá’í teacher and in 1912 his mother took him and his sister to meet ‘Abdu’l-Bahá when He visited the city with them both sitting on His knee. He was later given the name Ruhi by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. In 1914 the family moved again to Detroit, Michigan, allowing Colston to spend much of his time at Green Acre Bahá’í School often spending time with Rúhíyyih Khánum. In 1919 his parents divorced with his mother remarrying to Howard Colby Ives the following year.

Rice-Wray became an active member of the Bahá’í community in his youth and was appointed to the first National Youth Committee for the United States and Canada in 1931. In 1939 he married Sheila Nelson in Rapid City, South Dakota, and his wife went on to become a notable pioneer in Central and South America.

In 1977 Rice-Wray passed away in Los Angeles, California.