Ray Ferrin

Ray E. Ferrin, 101, of Pima, entered into rest at his home October 18, 2012. He was born on April 18, 1911 in Pima, Arizona Territory to Charles E. and Bettie Stinson Ferrin When he was 8 years old his family moved to Thatcher where he attended grade school and high school. The last 2 years of high school were at the Gila Academy which is now Eastern Arizona College and that is where he met the love of his life, Ramona Larson. On December 28, 1931 they were sealed in the Mesa, Arizona, LDS Temple; they were married for 80 years. Ray worked at the mine in Globe, AZ, on the Mormon Flat Dam near Mesa, AZ and the Morenci Mine before he decided his favorite vocation was farming. He moved his family back to Thatcher in 1940 and farmed with his father until 1947 when the family then moved to Pima to the farm where he resided for the rest of his life. While farming, he also learned how to run heavy equipment and ran a caterpillar leveling land for other farmers and building roads for government agencies. Ray and Ramona spent seven years working together with the Native Americans in Bylas for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Following their years in Bylas they served a full-time mission for the church in Arkansas. When they returned home from their mission, they were called as ordinance workers in the Mesa Arizona Temple. Ray is preceded in death by his parents, wife Ramona, their son Max Ferrin, 3 sisters and 4 brothers. He is survived by his children, Kay (Donna) Ferrin, Garth (Julie) Ferrin, Raeleen (Reubin) Matthews, Ivan (Clara) Ferrin, David (Laurie) Ferrin, Janet LeBlanc, Brenda (Lynn) Eldredge, and Joy Zink; 45 grandchildren, 82 great-grandchildren and 25 great-great-grandchildren. Funeral services for Ray will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 27, 2012 at the Pima, LDS Stake Center with viewing from 9:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. at the Stake Center.