Raymond Nasif Malouf Jr

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Longtime resident of Logan and North Logan, Raymond Nasif Malouf Jr was born in Seattle WA the morning of January 7, 1946 the first child of Raymond Nasif Malouf and Ausdrig Piranian Malouf. At the time of Ray Jr’s birth his dad was still serving as a medical officer in the US Navy but with the 2nd world war now over he was soon released from military service and soon moved his young family to Richfield Utah, close to his parents and young Raymond Jr’s grandparents in Glenwood Utah. “Ray the Son” as he was affectionately called became quite close to his grandparents and had many fond memories of helping with various tasks at their farm. Even after his parents moved to Logan in 1955 Ray the son returned and spent several summers living and working with them at the Glenwood farmstead and spoke fondly of his Grandpa Nasif teaching him the finer points of driving the 1936 International work truck, along with numerous other skills related to running a small farm.

In Logan young Raymond enjoyed the company of his younger siblings Carole, James, and Ron. One year he recruited their help in building a canoe basically from scratch, out of a variety of hardwoods, canvas, fiberglass cloth and resin, glue and nails and hardware. Months of hard work alone and with his siblings paid off and the project he spearheaded turned out to be a very functional and sturdy yet elegant canoe that served him and my Mom and us young kids well on numerous outings. It still hangs in their garage and when I look at it I’m reminded how unique my Dad is… intellectual, influential, persistent, very good with his hands and tools and possessing a strong yearning for any adventure in the great outdoors.

In high school Dad also built and flew several model airplanes, some of which still survive although no longer in airworthy condition. He did many such projects on the sturdy workbench his dad and grandpa built and gave him for Christmas one year. One of those projects made him a bit of a pioneer in the sport of downhill skiing… as a young teen or perhaps pre-teen

he purchased, downright cheaply, a set of long heavy clunky wooden military surplus skiis, likely left over from when the 10th mountain division was training for the possibility of going up against the Germans in northern Italy in wintertime. These rough skiis had no metal edges so Dad bought a kit for that from the old Sportsman store in Logan and went to work shaping the old wood just right so edges could be installed, gluing and screwing them on, building up a layer of hard wax in between, and all the fine finish work and installation of new-fangled cable release bindings also from Sportsman. Then it was off to Beaver Mountain where he somehow managed to teach himself to ski! I don’t know if it took him hours, or days, or how many trips to the mountain, but he got it figured out and became proficient enough on that makeshift equipment that in his college days he freelanced as a ski instructor for dozens of other new skiers. His love for the sport, and for Beaver Mountain, continued right up until 4 months ago when Jake and his wife Amy (themselves highly qualified ski patrollers) visited from Alaska and helped him take his final runs at the Beav along with Carissa and some of his grankids. Dare I say that Dad, for more than half a century, probably did as much or more to grow and support the Seeholzer family’s ski resort business as anyone else in Cache Valley.

At Logan High dad also managed to excel at his schoolwork and graduated near the top of his class in 1964. He also played clarinet in the Logan high school band, as well as the band at USU, and enjoyed playing clarinet throughout his life. From mid 1965 until mid 1967 Ray served a mission for the LDS church in Maryland, Delaware and parts of Pennsylvania. Then back home in Logan and back at Utah State, he became an active participant in Army ROTC. Summer of 1969 he and his buddy Keith Bodrero hitchhiked all the way to Alaska, worked a bit and eventually made their way home, yet more significantly it was around that same time period he met, was smitten with, dated and eventually married our dear mother Sharyl Dean Hill from Bountiful UT. Dad loved not just Mom but all of his in-laws and always spoke highly of all of them.

Ray and Sharyl married each other April 1st 1971 in the Salt Lake City temple. By then Ray was a law student at the University of Utah. That summer, he and Mom set out on an adventure to Alaska driving all the way there… and back… on thousands of miles of what was then a dirt road in their slow but sturdy 1960 Willey’s Jeep Overlander, camping along the way with their remarkable cat Josie, perhaps the only cat Dad ever liked enough to take a road trip with. Their grit was true!

Dad finished up his law degree from U of U in 1973 then moved with Mom to Boise where he worked as a deputy Attorney General for the state of Idaho and their first child (Daniel) was born that same year. In 1976 Ray and Sharyl yet again heard the call of Cache Valley, and moved to North Logan and Dad joined his cousin Carl Malouf’s law practice in Logan, a partnership which continued for decades and helped countless people from many walks of life through difficult situations. Ray’s heart often went out to the underdog and he frequently found himself representing people who were not in a great position to afford representation. Yet he represented them well and took great satisfaction in helping less privileged people through difficult situations whether they paid him well or not.

By the end of 1979 Ray and Sharyl had all 3 of their children… Daniel Jacob and Carissa… and seemed to be “living the dream” and yet there were plenty of challenges. Dad worked tirelessly to help his clients and also provide for his family yet his clients could not always pay their bills. So sometimes there was plenty and sometimes there was less than plenty. Yet there was always plenty of love in the family, we all knew it, and a big reason we knew it was because Dad was not just diligently working for his clients he was just as diligently working for all of us and not just as a provider but also as a leader, a father, a mentor, a friend and a teacher. He was always there for us and with us at the big events in life, countless little events too, as well as countless outdoor adventures!

We didn’t always realize it at the time but we were so incredibly blessed, not to just live in an area with good recreational opportunities, but to have a dad who loved taking us on outings every chance he could. Short hikes, long hikes, backpacking trips, family car camping trips, waterskiing and snow skiing, fishing and hunting, more hiking, canoeing and sailing, dutch oven cooking, cross country skiing and even winter camping. Not all these outings were for the faint of heart. Many times perhaps too many times ha ha we were carrying big packs up big mountains only to get caught in big thunderstorms. Dad loved a big adventure like that and taught us to love and appreciate it too, the satisfaction of pushing ourselves to do difficult things under difficult conditions, along with the splendor of the mountains, and too many skills to count. Paddling and sailing. Getting a campfire going when it’s windy and rainy. Tying down gear securely with the right knots. Setting up a tent strait and tight so it sheds water and stays up in gusting wind. Gutting and skinning and packing out a deer or elk. Casting a fishing line, holding a rifle for a good steady aim even when out of breath Appreciating a night time sky in the mountains so full of millions of bright stars you can hike down a trail without a flashlight. Navigating with map and compass, no gps or smartphone. Drinking enough water and finding enough water in the first place. Getting into a canoe in a swift river navigating rapids and getting out again without rolling over. Etc Etc

Dad’s service in the LDS Church included many years as Elder’s quorum president followed by many years as a scoutmaster as well as many years as a high councilman and member of student ward bishoprics. He took great joy in working with young people especially as a scoutmaster where he was able to take many young men, in addition to just his own 2 sons and daughter, on countless trips and treks in the mountains and desert backcountry. He also did some great trips with just his son Jake and Jake’s great friend Joe Benson, climbing several significant peaks including Gannet Peak, the Grand Teton, Fremont Peak, and mount Rainier

Later in life Ray and Sharyl were blessed with 15 grandkids and enjoyed frequent visits to them in Alaska, northern Idaho and Arizona. Dad never could quite make himself retire from the practice of law though, otherwise he likely would have served a mission or three with Mom. For a while he might have thought he had plenty of time to figure that out, wanting to keep practicing law well into his 80’s and live past 100 like his own Dad. But alas he succumbed to the effects of congestive heart failure and passed away peacefully the morning of July 16 at home with Mom. We know he’s enjoying this next adventure free of the pains and worries of mortality!

Ray is survived by his wife Sharyl, his 3 siblings, his 3 children Daniel Jacob and Carissa, 14 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren, and preceded in death by his granddaughter Sarajane Malouf

Ray’s funeral will be Saturday July 26th at 11:30 at the North Logan 10th ward chapel (1550 E 1900 N) and burial service will be at the North Logan cemetery following the funeral. Two visitations will take place… Friday the 25th from 6-8pm at the Allen Mortuary in North Logan (420 E 1800 N) and the following day at 10am at the 10th ward church building prior to the funeral service

Memories and condolences may be shared and expressed at www.allenmortuaries.com.

*Disclaimer: If for some reason the livestream of the Funeral Service does not work we will record the service and upload the video and/or audio recording at a later date.*