Raymond "Ray" Carney, Jr.

Raymond “Ray” Carney Jr., 94, of Lakewood, Colorado, passed away peacefully October 24, 2021. He was born October 11, 1927 in West Palm Beach, Florida to Myrtle Irene Hull Carney and Raymond Carney Sr.

Ray grew up in Idaho Falls, Idaho and graduated from Idaho Falls High School.  He went on to a receive a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from the University of Idaho.  Shortly after graduation he married Gwena Allen from Franklin, Idaho. Together they moved to Denver, Colorado where he lived largely the rest of his life.

His degree in Mathematics served him well as he became an engineer for Martin Marietta (AKA Lockheed Martin) in the southwest Denver area for 30 plus years.  He worked within the Mars Viking Lander program and took great pride in the Viking 1 landing on Mars in the bi-centennial year of 1976.  It was first human spacecraft to land on that planet.

Ray loved the outdoors and especially the Rocky Mountains. He was an avid fly fisherman and fly fished many of the rivers of the western United States.  He particularly loved fishing the Gunnison River, the South Platte, the Colorado River, the South Fork of the Snake River, and Grey’s Reef in Wyoming.

In addition, he was a big sports fan.  Ray lived and died with the Denver Broncos, the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Rockies. He rejoiced in the large victories and agonized over their loses.

Growing up, his passion was playing baseball, but he quickly switched to power volleyball in which he coached many youth and adult teams. With that passion for volleyball, Ray organized countless local and regional volleyball, basketball and softball tournaments for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His efforts impacted countless lives within the Church and elsewhere.

Ray was a devoted Christian and served in the Church for many years as a scoutmaster, home teacher visiting many families, high councilor, instructor/teacher of various capacities, and within priesthood quorum leaderships.  He loved Christ, the scriptures and researching family history at which he became expert.

Also, many people didn’t know he was a beekeeper. Ray owned several beehives from which he extracted delicious honey for years and years. He often shared that honey with family and friends.

Finally, Ray loved his pet dogs and they loved him.  His favorites were Mindy and Heidi.

Ray is survived by his wife, Janice Giese Carney; sister Lona Carter; children, daughter Sherri Windle; son Jeff Carney (wife, Sally); stepsons Dr. Scott Smith (spouse Patti), Tracy Smith (spouse April); grandchildren Ben Carney (spouse Jessica), Michelle Weymouth (spouse Mark), Amy Windle, Casey Windle (spouse Mike Smith), Kyle Carney (spouse Taylor), Katy Gille (spouse Martin), Daniel Carney, Bradley Carney (spouse Braden); great-grandchildren Alex Clark, Emily Paul, Breana Smith, Tyler Smith, Sadie O’Neil, Jayden and Sydney Carney; Rex, Sam, Oliver and William Weymouth; Spencer, Madilyn and Carter Gille; Jack and Lucas Carney.  Also, he is survived by Jan’s children Darryl, Janene, and Stephen and 8 grandchildren from that marriage. Jan’s son Gene previously passed away.

Ray was preceded in death by his previous spouses Carmen Smith Carney, and Gwena Allen Carney.  He was also preceded in death by his oldest son, Michael Carney, who is survived by his wife, Liz Carney; his younger brother, Louis Carney; and by his granddaughter Annie O’Neil (Sherri Windle’s daughter).

A funeral service will be held at 11:00am on Saturday, October 30th at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 910 W. Ridge Road, Littleton, Colorado 80120. Please use the following link to participate virtually: https://zoom.us/j/91062733021

A viewing will be held at the Church prior to the service, from 9:30am-10:45am.

Burial will be at 12:00pm on Monday, November 1st at the Golden City Cemetery,  755 Ulysses St, Golden, CO 80401.

Family and friends are invited to share memories of Ray and condolences with his family by sharing on the adjoining Tribute wall. Thank you.