Raymond Albert Spilker

Raymond Albert Spilker was born on May 31, 1934 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Henry and Alice Weiss Spilker, the 4th of 6 children. After dealing with dementia, he passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family on February 24, 2023. He is survived by his wife Janet, their five children Karen (Craig) Conder, Brian (Michelle), Michael (Tina), Kenny (Oyuki) and Diane (Todd) Weeks, 14 grandchildren, 9 great grandchildren, and his brothers Don (Rene) and Frank (Kathy). He was preceded in death by his parents and three siblings, Elva Caldwell, Melvin Spilker and Ellen Fellows.

He graduated from South High in Salt Lake City where he made many friends and he especially enjoyed his P.E. classes. Following graduation he worked as a roller skating order filler with ZCMI Wholesale. He then worked as a billing clerk with Inland Freight Lines where he built up his typing skills to reach 90 to 95 words per minute. On January 3, 1955 Ray was drafted into the Army where he was assigned to the 5th Evacuation Hospital as a medic and served in Darmstadt, Germany. He was sent to quartermaster school to develop the skills necessary to become a company clerk but, due to his typing ability, he was assigned to be a teacher rather than a student.

After being released from the Army, Ray attended BYU where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Education and Office Management. Ray met Janet Christensen at BYU at the end of his sophomore year and they were married a little over a year later on June 18, 1959 in the Manti Temple. Following graduation from BYU, Ray accepted employment at Evergreen Jr. High School in Salt Lake City where he worked for 32 years. At Evergreen, Ray first taught type and math before transitioning into the role of Media and Audio Visual Coordinator for most of his career. Ray’s family frequently run into former Evergreen students who ask about “Mr. Spilker.”

Ray was a hard worker, working part-time after school and in the summer to help make ends meet. He worked many years in the evenings as a library clerk for the Salt Lake County Library and as an instructor of community education classes for Granite School District. He also started a lawn care business, teaching his children how to work hard by involving them in the “lawn jobs.”

Family was extremely important to Ray. He found time to coach his sons in sports, support his daughters in their activities, take family trips, and spend time just hanging out and playing games with family. Ray loved sports. He enjoyed playing softball, basketball, and golf. He also enjoyed watching BYU basketball and football games, Utah Stars Basketball games, and any sporting activity involving his children and grandchildren.

As a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints he served in many callings, including Elders Quorum Counselor, Sunday School Teacher, Ward Clerk and Bishop. He also served for years as a genealogical name extraction specialist and temple ordinance worker in both the Jordan River and Draper Temples. In 1999-2000, Ray fulfilled a lifelong goal to serve a mission when he and Janet served as full-time missionaries in the Oklahoma Tulsa Mission.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, March 4, 2023 at 12:30 pm at the Hillcrest Stake Center located at 8485 S. 1000 E. in Sandy, Utah. A viewing will be held Friday, March 3, 2023 from 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm at the Hillcrest Stake Center. A viewing will be held prior to the funeral services from 11:00 am – 12:15 pm. Interment will immediately follow at Memorial Mountain View Mortuary and Cemetery 3115 East 7800 South, Cottonwood Heights, UT 84121.

To participate in the services via live stream, please visit his obituary page on MemorialUtah.com.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to the Raymond A. Spilker scholarship through the Hillcrest High Alumni Association. Please email hillcresthighalumni@gmail.org to arrange a donation or send a check to Hillcrest High Alumni Association at 10291 S. 1300 E., PMB #106, Sandy, UT 84094 with the scholarship name noted on the check.