Raymond “Ray” Reiner’s eyesight was mostly gone when he went to a Middle River Concert Band performance two years ago. But his ears were as sharp as ever.

Reiner, the conductor emeritus, congratulated his successor and friend, Sue Wilson, at the end of the show. She’d put on a good concert, he said — except for the muffled electronic drums.

Wilson laughed recalling the story, the way Reiner sandwiched his feedback between compliments. He was in his mid-90s at the time and still the “consummate musician,” she said.

“They had really sounded good, but he zeroed right in on what could be improved, and that’s the way he was,” Wilson said. “In a very quiet, kind manner, he always made you strive to do more, to be better, to perfect your skills.”

Reiner had that impact on generations of students he instructed over three-plus decades at Middle River Junior High School and other Baltimore County schools, she said. After he retired in 1984, he brought the same attitude to local environmental organizations, where he was a strong and measured advocate for clean waters until his last days, loved ones said.

Reiner died Jan. 24 of natural causes. He was 97.

He was born Feb. 3, 1928, the fourth of Frederick and Emma Reiner’s five children. He grew up on East Lafayette Avenue in Baltimore with two brothers and two sisters, who all played instruments. His mother was a piano teacher.

The Reiners also had a summer home in Middle River, where Ray loved boating and fishing. After earning his GED and a machinist certification from a vocational high school, Reiner enlisted in the Navy. He served from 1946 to 1948, enticed by the opportunity to use the recently passed GI Bill to pay for college.

He studied at the Peabody Institute, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1953 and a master’s degree in music education in 1965. While in college, a friend introduced him to a coworker, Vera Fuchs. The couple never disclosed much about their love story, said their daughter, Kathy Reiner Martin, but Vera often joked that Ray pursued her only after learning she owned a canoe.

After graduating, Reiner taught instrumental music at Parkton and Fifth District elementary schools. He married Vera the day after Christmas.

While Ray and Vera shared family values and a love of the water, they also prioritized their independence, their daughter said.

The couple welcomed Kathy in 1954; five years later, they had a son, Steve. The family lived in the Oliver Beach community on the Gunpowder River, at first in Vera’s family home and then an apartment while Reiner and his father-in-law laid bricks for a new house.

Reiner also had stints at Essex and Colgate elementary schools before becoming music department chair at Middle River Junior High School in 1959. His main instrument was the trumpet, his daughter said, “but he could play any instrument and teach any instrument.” Throughout his time there, he supervised a jazz band, a marching band and an orchestra on top of the regular concert band, Martin said.

E. Farrell Maddox knew of Reiner as a Middle River student in the 1970s, but only became his friend after joining the faculty there.

“He was highly respected because he was serious about his art,” Maddox said. “Many of his students went on to become music teachers, which is always a tribute to the job that you did.”

“Mr. Ray” or “Mr. Reiner” was a no-nonsense teacher who didn’t seek recognition for his accomplishments, Maddox said.

David Moore, a former Middle River colleague who taught choral music, called Reiner “a wonderful backbone for our department” who supported students and staff.

“As a music teacher, he was very adept at getting his ideas across to the kids and having them be able to perform it quite adequately,” Moore said.

Outside of work, Reiner was mostly a waterman. Reiner showed his children how to fish, crab and ice skate. He also taught them the value of showing up and helping loved ones in need, Martin said.

“Whatever needed to be done, he would do it, and that’s the way he taught me,” she said.

Reiner loved building community, his daughter said. He’d often invite friends to come tubing and enjoy some of his wife’s famed beef barbecue.

“He was just a friend to everybody,” said Dolly Reinhardt, who has known the Reiners for over 50 years. “If you knew him, you were a friend.”

Throughout his adult life, but especially in retirement, Reiner championed the health and cleanliness of the Gunpowder River.

He helped develop regulations to reduce river pollution, Martin said, and was a member of the Oliver Beach Improvement Association and the Essex Middle River Civic Council. He also volunteered at Marshy Point Nature Center and with the environmental group Save Our Streams.

He was adventurous and loved to learn, picking up windsurfing and snow skiing after retiring. His physical health and eyesight deteriorated as he approached 100, but his mind was always racing, his daughter said.

At one of the last community concerts he attended, Reiner’s wife warned family and friends to keep an eye on him to avoid any blind run-ins or falls. At some point, though, his family lost him while he walked around to greet everyone.

And then a friend spotted him — dancing in a conga line.

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