W. Ray Thornley

Willford Ray Thornley

March 21, 1931 – April 24, 2026

Beloved Husband, Father, Grandfather, Engineer, and Servant of God:

Willford Ray Thornley, known to all who loved him simply as Ray, was born on March 20, 1931, in a hand-hewn log house in Smithfield, Utah, the son of William Clark Thornley and Gladys Winnifred Willford Thornley. He grew up on a working farm in Cache Valley, where hard work, faith, and family were inseparable. From his father he inherited a peacemaking spirit and a courage that walked toward conflict rather than away from it. From his mother he inherited persistent generosity and a quiet faithfulness that never sought applause. Ray passed away April 24, 2026.

Ray served faithfully as a missionary in the Texas Louisiana Mission from 1951 to 1953. On his return home, he enrolled in Utah State Agricultural College, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering in 1956, which earned him election to the Sigma Tau National Honorary Engineering Fraternity.

On June 8, 1956, Ray married Joy Irene Irish in the Los Angeles Temple. He proposed at the Lambda Delta Sigma Spring Formal exactly one year after their first date. To purchase a ring, he sold his cow. He loved calling Joy his “one cow wife.” Their partnership endured every season of life, prosperity and hardship, laughter and loss, and only deepened with time. Of her he wrote: “I could never have made it without her. Our love for each other has become stronger over the years.”

His career was distinguished and included designing a guidance system for John Deere equipment and earning Patent No. 4507910 for a grain reel positioning system. Following the Challenger disaster, he was hired at Morton Thiokol to help test the redesigned Space Shuttle solid rocket boosters. He later served as a Hazards Analyst, work for which his boyhood on a farm had perfectly prepared him. He retired in November 1992.

Ray is survived by their seven children and their families: Diann Read (Jon), Janis Lapides (Richard), David (Cheryl Leyh), Phyllis Gibson (Buddy), Ruthann DeMille (David), Paul (Liesl Norton), and Sharon Schnell (Ken), 25 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren, and a foster Navajo son, Victor Mannie. He was preceded in death by his parents, his loving wife Joy, and his only sibling, William Robert Thornley.

His faith was that of hard-won conviction. He prayed before he studied, sought the Spirit before he spoke, and believed with certainty that a remission of sins through the Atonement of Christ was a present, living reality, not merely a future hope.

He served in many church callings throughout his life, including counselor in a bishopric, Sunday School President, Ward Mission Leader, and Family History missionary. He and Joy served together at the Cache Family History Center in Logan beginning in 1996, and as tour guides at the Logan Tabernacle, where he welcomed visitors from around the world and freely offered copies of the Book of Mormon. He loved helping people feel noticed and valued.

Ray wrote his personal history not because he thought himself remarkable, but because he believed that ordinary lives, lived faithfully, honestly, and with the Lord as a partner, are worth preserving for those who come after. The titles he leaves behind are those of husband, father, grandfather, and friend. In his own words: “My greatest joys are in my family and knowing that I have been accepted of God.”

Engraved on the headstone Ray and Joy placed at the Smithfield Utah Cemetery are the words of Mosiah 5:7: “Because of the covenant which ye have made, ye shall be called the children of Christ, His sons and His daughters.” No eulogy could say it better.

There will be a viewing held on Friday, May 8 from 6:00-8:00 PM , and a viewing on Saturday, May 9 at 10:00 AM, followed by the funeral service at 11:00 AM at the Berry Hollow Ward 450 N 100 W, Hyde Park.

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