Camarillo lost one of its best-known artists Sunday, a man generous in spirit who was always willing to help up-and-coming artists.

Raymond Irving Ayers' lithographs and paintings hang in hundreds of homes and offices across Ventura County.

Ayers died at home Sunday evening with his wife of 54 years, Amy, at his side. He was 78.

Born in Red Bank, N.J., Ayers was the oldest of two children. He joined the Navy after graduating from Red Bank High School in 1947.

Ayers fell in love with Southern California while stationed at Point Mugu during the Korean War, said his sister, Gloria McNally of Oxnard.

McNally, living in New Jersey at the time, recalls her brother telling her how much nicer Southern California was and urging her to leave the cold winters behind and move here. "He was very persistent," she said. McNally eventually accepted her brother's invitation in 1960 and never regretted her decision.

McNally said her brother was smitten with the idea of becoming an artist when he saw a newspaper ad that read, "Draw me — and win a prize!" around the age of 12. Ayers entered the contest, and was always drawing something after that, she said.

Ayers went back to New Jersey after his tour of duty in the Navy and married Amy Elizabeth Myatt. The couple settled in Ventura County, his sister said.

Ayers used his drawing skills and talents when he went back to work for Point Mugu after settling here with his wife. John Colby, a retired electrical engineer, recalled working alongside Ayers at Point Mugu.

"Ray was a leading draftsman there, making drawings of electrical equipment, circuit diagrams," Colby said.

Ayers also designed the frames that hold the missiles at the entrance to the Navy base, McNally said.

Ayers pursued his passion for painting and art full time after retiring from Point Mugu in 1985. He began to do more watercolors, said Stan Daily, who served as mayor of Camarillo from 1964 to 1998.

"He painted a lot of outside scenes — old barns and buildings, plows," Daily said. Ayers was a fixture at the Camarillo farmers market, where he sold his paintings for many years, Daily said.

"He always seemed to have a smile on his face and something nice to say," said Daily, who owns some of Ayers' artwork.

When Ayers decided he no longer wanted to sell his art at the farmers market, he allowed other artists to use his space there to sell their wares, said artist Anita McDermott of Camarillo. Today, his artwork hangs in galleries throughout the West Coast.

Ayers was instrumental in establishing the Camarillo Art Center on Ponderosa Drive, Colby said, even serving as its president.

In addition to his wife and sister, Ayers is survived by three children and eight grandchildren.

A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. May 27 at United Methodist Church, 291 Anacapa Drive, Camarillo.