Two longtime Sonomans, Arthur Deleray and Judith Muller, both 81, were involved in a multi-car accident on Highway 37 on Thursday, June 29.
Deleray was pronounced dead at the scene despite efforts by paramedics and Muller was flown by CHP helicopter to Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa, where she is currently in stable condition.
Deleray was born on June 27, 1936, in Sonora, California. His family moved to Walnut Creek in 1947 and remained there throughout his childhood.
Deleray graduated from the U.C. Berkeley in 1959 with a degree in chemical engineering. He went on to earn a Ph.D. from Princeton University.
He began his teaching career at Chabot Community College in Hayward and then transferred to Las Positas College in Livermore, where he taught chemistry and math until his retirement in 2002, after 32 years of teaching.
Deleray and Judy Muller had attended Acalanes High School together in the East Bay in the 1950s. They reunited at a class reunion in 2000, after Muller's husband had passed away.
They were both avid tennis players and were fixtures on the local tennis scene in Sonoma. In their 17 years together, they traveled extensively attending tennis tournaments around the world.
Deleray was a familiar sight to all at Maxwell Park tennis courts, according to Sonoma Valley Tennis Association members, checking court conditions before board matches, herding the players, setting up and putting equipment away after matches.
Muller has served on the SVTA board for many years, and has captained local tennis teams in the Sonoma/Napa/Marin Women's Tennis League for decades.
'Art and Judy are the most delightful people,' said Maxwell Park tennis pro Felipe Monroy. 'They have been so supportive of the tennis program here, whether through providing scholarships for young players, or helping with free clinics.'
Monroy said that Muller has been battling cancer for the past year but that that did not deter her from continuing to show up at the courts this spring, cheering on her women's tennis team, with Deleray helping her to get around in a wheelchair.
'Art would peek in through the gate and watch me give lessons,' said Monroy. 'Sometime I would think he needed to speak with me but when I came closer, he would just yell out, 'Great job, Felipe, keep it up!''
'Art and Judy took an interest in everyone, and they in them,' said Judy Muller's daughter-in-law Wendy Muller. 'He was so smart, yet down-to-earth, and an awfully good sport.'
'Art was a generous man with his time and attention and treated our family as if we were his own,' she added. 'He was curious about everything and interested in everyone around him.'
Deleray and Muller were returning to Sonoma from San Francisco, riding in a red Lexus sedan, when traffic came to a complete stop on eastbound Highway 37 last Thursday. At approximately 3 p.m., they were struck from behind by a Ford-150 pickup truck, driven by Alex Frietas of American Canyon, who was unable to brake in time, according to highway patrol officers on the scene.
The Lexus was rammed forward into two other vehicles. Passengers in those cars suffered minor injuries and the driver of the truck was treated by paramedics but was not taken to a hospital.
The crash remains under investigation but intoxication is not suspected as a factor, according to CHP reports.
Deleray is survived by his sons, Mark of Kalispell, Montana, and Michael of San Leandro; grandchildren, Anna, Kade and Melissa; sister-in-law Verna Deleray, and eight nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brother, Robert, and his parents.
Details about a memorial service have not yet been released.
Contact Lorna at lorna.sheridan@sonomanews.com.
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