Gibson "Ray" Raymond Smith

Gibson Raymond Smith, age 83, passed away peacefully on October 15, 2015 due to complications from heart surgery, with his loving family around him. Ray was born on November 16, 1931, in Ogden, Utah, to Gibson R. Smith and Alexa Adam Smith. Ray's mother came from Germany, where his father met her on his LDS mission and arranged for her to come to the United States. Ray received his legacy of hard work and determination from both of his parents.
Ray was born in Ogden, Utah. When he was a young child, his family moved to California for a short time. His grandfather had a turkey farm and Ray gathered eggs at age fourAA his first job. He had some kind of employment from that time until he retired in
1996.
Ray attended the Ogden City schools and graduated from Ogden High School in 1950.
He was an outstanding athlete in many sports during his school years, including football and track. He was offered scholarships to four universities.
During his Senior year he met JoAnne Petty whom he dated until they were married in the Salt Lake LDS Temple February of 1952. Ray said recently, "from our first date, I loved her, and have spent my life loving her."
His time at Weber College was interrupted when the Korean War broke out. Ray spent four years in the US Navy. For eighteen months he served in the Baker regiment 3 battalion in Korea, where he was attached to the marines in a MASH unit. For a time he served on the front lines alongside the infantry, as a medic bringing the wounded to safety. He also worked as a dental technition with an oral surgeon. Later on he enjoyed the TV series "MASH", and said it was exactly like the real thing except that there was no Radar O'Reilly.
After Ray was released from the military, he and
Jo Anne continued their life together at BYU where he received a degree in chemistry. This led to a lifetime career of 38 years at Thiokol in Brigham City, Utah where he ultimately became the Director of Mixing and Casting, propellant manufacturing, for the Space Shuttle program.
Ray had a lifelong love of animals. One of his favorites was a German shepherd dog, Duffy, who was his companion in Korea. He had a long succession of horses that he trained with firm but gentle hands.
After he retired, he and JoAnne had a home built in west Brigham City on 15 acres, where he skillfully built a corral, barns, and perfectly straight fences.
Ray also had a great love of the mountains and outdoors, and had many camping adventures and road trips where he enjoyed all that nature offers. He was often described as "a man's man", and was respected for his toughness, forthrightness, and integrity.
Ray left this life, valiant in his testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ on October 22, 2015.
Ray is survived by his wife JoAnne Petty Smith; his children Chris Gunn Beecham(Rand), Lynne Morrey (John), Teresa Ferry (John), Annette Randall (Bryant), Steven R.Smith (Lisa), Garth W. Smith (Dianne), David R. Smith (Christine); 33 grandchildren and 54 greatAgrandchildren, each of whom was loved and cherished in this life. He is also
survived by a sister, RayAnn Furch. He was preceded in death by two grandsons, Jonah Wright Smith, and Aaron Mitchell Smith, and a sonA-inA-law, Spencer H. Gunn.
Funeral services will be held Thursday, October 22, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. at the LDS River Ward, 531 N. 100 W., Brigham City, Utah,.
A viewing will be held Wednesday, October 21, 2015 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Myers Mortuary, 205 S. 100 E., Brigham City, Utah and on Thursday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the Church.
VisitationMyers Mortuary - Brigham City
205 South 100 East
Brigham City, UT 84302
October 21, 2015
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
ServiceBrigham City River Ward Chapel
531 North 100 West
Brigham City, UT 84302
October 22, 2015
11:00 AM
CemeteryBrigham City Cemetery
325 South 300 East
Brigham City, UT 84302
October 22, 2015