‘Word Guy’ Ray Kemble Makes Every Conversation Count

For decades, Ray Kemble built a career as a photographer, journalist, and public relations professional. “I’m a word guy,” he says.

Today, though words aren’t his job anymore, they remain at the heart of the connections he makes with guests at St. Francis Seraph Ministries’ (SFSM) breakfast service.

Ray, 77, began volunteering in January 2022, shortly after losing his wife to pancreatic cancer. “I was kind of lost,” he recalls. A note in his parish bulletin at Guardian Angels caught his attention. An early riser by nature, he decided to try volunteering at the breakfast shift. “It was a little out of my comfort zone,” he says, “but I just took to it.”

Now, on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, Ray is a steady presence guests know they can rely on. He works bag check, a role that keeps him moving and allows him to interact with guests as they arrive.

“That’s what I like the best,” he says. “I get to introduce myself to people and ask them their names.” Some guests are quiet or even non-verbal. Others are funny and eager to chat. Ray meets each one where they are, making a point to learn their birthdays, ages, and stories. “I just like to talk to them,” he says.

Ray also enjoys the SFSM staff, especially Breakfast Manager Karen Murphy. He describes her as “a wonderful person to work for” and praises her humor and leadership.

When SFSM served as the City of Cincinnati’s emergency daytime warming shelter this past winter, it was an easy choice for Ray to raise his hand to help. As a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps and an entrepreneur, “I’m accustomed to doing whatever it takes,” he says. “I’m just wired that way.”

Ray was one of the first people to arrive early on a December Sunday morning after snow had blanketed Cincinnati and brutally cold temperatures activated the warming center.

“What else would I have done that day except sit at home and say, ‘Oh, gosh, it’s awful outside’?” he says. Instead, he spent hours with people who are often forgotten about — helping them, talking to them, and sharing moments with them.

For Ray, that’s the heart of volunteering: being present. Always a “word guy,” the conversations he has at SFSM are some of the most meaningful of his life.