Ricky Ray, 15; School Barred Him Over HIV

Ricky Ray, the eldest of three hemophiliac brothers barred from school because they were infected with HIV by contaminated blood products, died Sunday.

He was 15 and died after a months-long, media-documented struggle. His family was by his bedside, said Dr. Jerry Barbosa.

Ricky had been in and out of the All Childrens Hospital in St. Petersburg for months, being treated for pneumonia, infections and eye problems.

He finished his last stay the day before Thanksgiving, saying he wanted to be home for the holidays.

“Obviously, it was not unexpected, but it was sudden and quick,” said Judith Cavanaugh, the family’s attorney. “And he died at home, which is what he really wanted.”

“He died peacefully in his sleep,” said his father, Clifford Ray.

The Rays’ story became national news in 1986 when the brothers, Ricky, Robert, 14, and Randy, 13, were barred from school by the Arcadia, Fla., school board because they were infected with HIV, which leads to AIDS. The family sued and won a federal court order in 1987 sending the children back to class at Memorial Elementary School.

The ruling sparked community protests. At the end of the first week of school the Rays’ home was destroyed by an arsonist. The family later moved to Orlando.

The hemophiliac brothers were believed to have been infected by blood transfusions, and the family agreed to a $1-million settlement in 1991 with pharmaceutical companies that manufacture blood products.

Ricky made headlines in June, 1991, when he announced his engagement to a 16-year-old neighbor. Illness forced them to put off the wedding, and they later broke up but remained friends.

Last month, President-elect Bill Clinton telephoned the boy to offer his support.

Ray said before the call that he hoped Clinton “does what he says about AIDS. . . . I know he’s a very busy man right now because he’s got to run the United States now but . . . I want to tell him that I want help for AIDS.”

The family said Ray will be buried in Sarasota, where the family first lived after leaving Arcadia.