Ray was born in Dundalk in 1924 before moving to Belfast after leaving school.
Before taking up the whistle, Ray was a rugby player himself and won the Towns Cup with Dundalk before ending his playing career due to injuries.
He then first refereed a game at North Rugby Club, doing so on an unofficial basis as he was filling in for a friend at the time, before progressing through the refereeing ranks.
In 1952, Ray took charge of the Schools' Cup Final as Methody beat Campbell, and was soon in charge of games in the Five Nations.
Irish scrum-half Ernest Strathdee described Williams as 'the greatest rugby referee of our time', and he was later involved in the All Blacks Tour of 1963/64.
At the time, the visiting side would request a referee of their choice, and the All Blacks opted for Ray in 3 of the 5 tests.
In addition to many Ulster fixtures, Ray also took charge of 21 international tests, which was a record at the time.
Ray was married to his wife Freda, who passed away in 2020 after almost 70 years together. He is survived by their children Carole, Pauline, and David, 7 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.