Jill Wray

1960 - 2014

Jill Hammer Wray, 54, of Shelley, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014, after a long battle of cancer, in her home, surrounded by her family.

Jill was born July 2, 1960, to Gary and Ruth LaRee Hammer in Idaho Falls. She was the oldest of eight children and was often thought of as the second mother to the young ones.

She attended Ricks College and BYU, where she earned an education degree, which she used to influence the lives of more than three thousand students as a home economics teacher at Hobbs Middle School in Shelley. Any student who has gone through Hobbs in the last 20 years surely remembers the annual science camp. The camp, organized and supervised by Mrs. Wray, was held at the Alpine 4-H camp and led to an appreciation for nature and science. There are also many students in Shelley who learned to cook, sew and love home crafting in Mrs. Wray's middle school class.

Jill had a love of quilting that provided satisfaction to her family and others as many of her award winning quilts were gifted and used by friends and neighbors. As an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she served in many positions, including primary president, counselor in the Relief Society, visiting teacher to many older widows in the Woodville Ward and her most loved calling as teacher in the Young Women's program. She married her eternal sweetheart, Vincent H. Wray, in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple on June 24, 1981, and raised five wonderful children on a small farm in Woodville, Idaho.

She is survived by her husband, Vincent, of Shelley; their children, Joshua H (Dina) Wray, of Vineland, N.J., Andrew Vincent (Ashley) Wray, of Burley, Idaho, Taylor C (Rebecca) Wray, of Lehi, Utah, Chase Hyrum (McKenzi) Wray, of Osgood, Idaho, Paige Wray, of Shelley; grandchildren, Rylee, Reese, Paxton, Alexander, Wyatt, Hope, Max and Tate Wray; parents, Gary and Ruth LaRee Hammer of Shelley; brothers, Jeff, Jarin, Joel, Jordan and Jason; and sisters, Jan and Julie.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 3, at Woodville 1st Ward Chapel, 1555 N. 700 East. The family will receive friends from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Nalder Funeral Home, 110 West Oak St. in Shelley, and from 9:30 a.m. to 10:40 a.m. Saturday at the church. Interment will be in Shelley Hillcrest Cemetery. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.nalderfuneralhome.com.