Harold Rayor

After a long and productive life, Harold Arthur Rayor died on February 14, 2026, at the age of 98. He was born in July 1927, in Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Bessie and Leon Rayor.

At eighteen, he enlisted in the Navy. Though near the end of WWII, Harold decided that the safest position he could be in was working for officers, so he learned shorthand over a shore leave and, somehow, became a secretary to a Rear Admiral. While serving in Occupied Japan, he fell in love with the Japanese people and the food, resulting in every celebration in his daughters' childhood taking place at a local Japanese restaurant.

After an Honorable Discharge, he returned to Cheyenne, where he helped raise his nephew Bruce Scheff, worked at his mother's motel, and attended college. In 1953, he went to a dance in Denver with a family friend. At the dance, he met a stunningly beautiful young woman, but it took six months to finagle her name and phone number out of the friend. Once he had Connie Shidler's phone number, he persistently courted her and won over her parents. Harold married Connie in 1955, remaining married for over 70 years, until his death.

Harold had been working as an assistant manager of a country club in Birmingham, Alabama, and the young couple moved to Birmingham. As a Jew, Harold was not allowed to swim in the pool and there were questions about whether he had horns. (He did not.) Alabama in 1955, with Jim Crow laws and the Montgomery bus boycott, shocked the young, apolitical couple. This exposure to open racism changed their lives, and they became determined to work for a better world.

Harold and Connie returned to Cheyenne, where ran the Western Skies Motel. After five years they struck out on their own and moved to Denver. Their choice to live in the Parkhill neighborhood landed them in a multiracial, politically active area where they became involved with local issues. Harold always voted and wrote brilliant letters to politicians until the final year of his life. In Denver, Harold worked at the Colorado Real Estate Commission, appraising property for the state. However, Harold was most passionate about building, landscaping, and art. He did major construction of a second story deck on their home, finished the basement, added a patio, xeriscaped the garden, and modified hillsides. His tool collection was legendary.

In retirement, Harold and Connie performed Readers' Theatre, doing scenes in classrooms, senior centers, and elsewhere. His most notable role was in the poignant and funny sequence from Fiddler on the Roof where Tevye asks Goldie (Connie): "Do you love me?". He took various art classes at the Denver Art Museum and in community programs, including welding, collage, and lithography, and produced some beautiful objects. He and Connie loved travel, and visited the Peruvian Amazon twice, Ecuador, Belize, Mexico, Vienna, Spain, and Canada. In 2020, they moved to Seattle to be closer to one of their daughters.

Harold and Connie had three daughters, whom he encouraged to pursue careers and their passions. As each daughter moved out of the house she was presented with a set of tools. Harold will be remembered for his love for his wife and children, his sense of humor, and his full-throated laugh. He was a good man who will be missed by his family and friends.

Harold Rayor is survived by his wife of 70 years, Connie Rayor, daughters Linda Rayor (Cole Gilbert) of Ithaca, NY, Diane Rayor (David Hast) of Grand Rapids, MI, and Janet Rayor of Seattle, WA, grandchild Daniel Rayor Hast and nephew Bruce Scheff. Harold was preceded in death by his older siblings, Oscar, Sarah, and Dorothy, and beloved pets, Peggy the 5th (and the preceding four Peggy dogs), and cats Ben and Katmandu.