Ray Crum

Ray Crum of Glenwood, passed away at his home in the early morning of December 3, 2019.  Ray was born to William Crum and Vina Lively Crum on September 15, 1930 in Safford, AZ.  Ray had ten brothers and sisters when he was born. His parents went on to have two more children after Ray.

Ray graduated from Safford High School in 1948. He then worked for the Crook National Forest in Safford, stationed as a fire lookout during the summer months from 1948 to 1951 when he was drafted into the U.S. Army.  He was stationed in Fort Benning, GA, where he completed Infantry School. Ray received his Parachutist Badge in December 1951 and was a member of the 598^th Airborne Engineering Company and the 508^th Airborne Regimental Combat Team.  He was honorably discharged from the service in 1953.

Ray met and married his wife, Beverly June Chadwick in 1958 in Reno, Nevada.  Ray and June had two daughters, Cynthia Crum Shellhorn and Teri Crum Jameson (Gerry) and they moved around the U.S. for Ray’s job as a Conway Mucker Operator. At the peak of his career, Ray was considered one of the country’s premier Mucker Operators and was sent to Canada on two separate occasions to teach the Canadians how to use the huge piece of machinery.  He retired in 1989 at the age of 58 and settled in Glenwood.  Ray’s pride and joy were his three grandsons, Bradd Edward Shellhorn, Wyatt Ray Shellhorn (Micheon) and Kyle Dean Spurgeon.  He was also blessed with two great-grandsons, Braden Shellhorn and Jack Klein. Ray was preceded in death by his parents; ten of his siblings; numerous close friends and relatives; his son-in-law, Wayne Shellhorn.

Pallbearers for Ray are: Bradd Shellhorn, Wyatt Shellhorn, Kyle Spurgeon, Gerry Jameson, Bryan Luna, Rick Crum and Shane Crum. Honorary pallbearers are: Lyle Angle, Ed Sherman, Kurt Pettit, Barney Spurgeon, Wilfred Estrada, Stanley Elkins, Vidal Baca, Bucky Allred, John Murphy, Jay Killough, Tom Pettit, Lena Shellhorn, Cheryle Ehmke, Rhonda, Feltman, Martha Ferguson, Judy Pavlacky, Patty Scarborough and Tammy Smith.

Services for Ray will be held in Glenwood on Saturday, December 7, 2019 at 10:30 a.m. at the Los Olmos Lodge.  Interment will follow at the Lebanon Cemetery in Safford, AZ.

Ray’s family would like to personally thank Dr. Norman Ratliff and staff, Dr. Sherpa and the GRMC nurses and staff, Dr. Reed and the staff at Fort Bayard and the Horizon Hospice staff for all the love and care they gave Ray during his illness.  We would also like to thank Baca’s Funeral Home for their continued care and support for our family.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Ray Crum, please visit our floral store.