Ramon “Ray” Stella, born October 19, 1925 in Joliet, Illinois, died peacefully in his sleep on September 6 at Claremont Manor.

Mr. Stella was a longtime Claremont and Ontario educator and a coordinating principal for four Claremont elementary schools, where he endeared himself to faculty and parents alike, his family shared.

A funeral mass will take place at 10 a.m. Friday, September 15 at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church, 435 N. Berkeley Ave., Claremont.