Joseph "Ray" Crook
1927 - 2015
VETERAN

Early Life: Ray was born on August 28, 1927, in Santaquin, Utah, to Oscar Fredrick and Ida Fay Patten Crook. He attended Payson High School until he was 16 to join the United States Navy and serve his country in World War II. He has since received an honorary diploma from Payson High School.
Life's Work | Service | Interests: Ray's time in the Navy was a great highlight in his life. He began his service on the aircraft carrier USS Lunga Point, serving in the Pacific theater. He often recalled how his ship went into Nagasaki, Japan, to bring home the US POWs. Later he transferred to the U.S.S. Sierra, a Destroyer Supply Ship, at Tsing Tao, China, until June of 1947. Ray was the storekeeper. He was the ranking petty officer and ran all of the Supply Division. At the time of his discharge, he was 19 years old and had achieved the rank of Storekeeper 2nd Class and was in charge of over 60 men. Following World War II, Ray worked in the copper mines in Butte, Montana, where he met his future wife. He married Elizabeth "Betty" Reynolds on July 25, 1948, in Anaconda, Montana; they were sealed in the Idaho Falls Temple on February 20, 1965. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ray served as an elders quorum president, high councilor and stake Sunday School president. He was a faithful home teacher and served a senior mission at Martin's Cove, Wyoming, with his wife, Betty. Ray earned his GED. He worked for US Steel for many years, starting at Geneva in Orem, Utah, where he was a brick mason. In 1962, the family was transferred to Lander, Wyoming, where he worked as a maintenance mechanic, and later, as a maintenance foreman. After retiring from US Steel, he worked as an outfitter and as a National Forest Camp Host. He and Betty liked to travel. They took a six week trip on the Alaskan Highway; a trip they fondly recalled. They visited Canada, Mexico and Hawaii. They also took a train trip across the country, and later in life, found they liked to take cruises. Ray was a Cubmaster and a District Commissioner in the Boys Scouts of America. He coached his sons' baseball teams both in Little League and Babe Ruth. He had a wonderful vegetable garden; many of his favorite times were spent outdoors. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, camping, and horseback riding. He liked watching his Atlanta Braves baseball team and he especially enjoyed attending his Navy reunions. Joseph Ray Crook of Lander, Wyoming, passed away on April 2, 2015, at Central Utah Veterans Home in Payson, Utah.
Preceded In Death By: His wife, his parents, three brothers and three sisters.
Services: Walker Funeral Home
Obituary: © 2015 | Walker Funeral Home

Bio compiled by: Annie Duckett Hundley