Jeremy Ray -- a British gentleman, Scrabble buff and advocate for Alzheimer's research -- died of complications from the disease Monday. He was 65.

Ray and his wife, Christy Cross, agreed in 2005 to allow the Kennebec Journal to chronicle their journey with the disease. Since then, the paper has run several stories about how they coped with Alzheimer's.

Three years ago, Ray was able to participate in adult day programs offered at Hallowell's William S. Cohen Community Center. As Cross, now 56, worked at the state Department of Transportation, Ray also got help during the day from caregivers who came into their Pleasant Street home in Hallowell.

Back then, Ray and Cross continued to be involved in neighborhood gatherings even as he slowly lost his ability to communicate clearly with others.

In July 2007, Cross, her daughter Lisa, and son-in-law Charles McGrotty, could no longer care for Ray at home. They moved him to Glenridge, MaineGeneral's Rehabilitation & Nursing Care center in Augusta.

Earlier this year, and as recently as mid-August, seizures led to injuries from falls.

Ray, the son of British tea farmers, was first diagnosed with Alzheimer's in July 1999. He had spent many years working as a resin salesman in the Portland area before moving to central Maine.

As Cross watched her husband slip away, she told the newspaper in May that the last few months had been the hardest.

"It's just such a reminder of what I've lost," she said. "I think he can still connect with that part of him. It says something pretty incredible about how much he loved me. I don't think many of us get that in a lifetime."

The family invites those who loved Ray to join them at 1 p.m. Sunday for a cruise, food and music on Casco Bay.

Cross and Ray were married on the boat in 1997.

In lieu of flowers, they ask that you take friends or family out for a nice dinner, or send donations in Ray's name to the Alzheimer's Association, 170 U.S. Route 1, Suite 250, Falmouth ME 04105.

Susan Cover -- 620-7015

scover@centralmaine.com