St. George, Utah - Ramon Eugene Bassett "Ray" was born on August 24, 1931, in Palo Alto, California.  He was the second child of Andre and Irene Bassett.   As a young boy, he loved to build models and was very proud of the replica baseball stadium he built. Growing up, he was very close to his older brother, Richard, and younger sister, Kathy.  They loved spending time together. Ray attended school (K-12) in California, Missouri, and Arizona.

Ray found great joy serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He served a mission in the Eastern States Mission, primarily preaching the gospel in Pennsylvania.  He touched many lives as bishop of the Cleveland East Ward and as a High Priest Group Leader in multiple wards. Ray served on the high council, was a ward clerk (his favorite calling), and recently taught Gospel Doctrine and Family Home Evening classes at the Meadows at Escalante.  He also had the opportunity to serve as the chair of the Bountiful City Handcart Days.

While attending the University of Utah 3rd Ward, Ray met Peggy Hansen at a genealogy class he was teaching. They began dating and were married July 20, 1959, in the Logan, Utah Temple.  Together, they raised five children: Teresa, Gregory, Bryan, Rochelle and Richard.  The family built many treasured memories taking vacations together and visiting Ray's parents in St. Helena, California, and Peggy's parents in American Fork, Utah.

Ray received a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Brigham Young University.  He also did post-graduate work at the University of Utah.  He worked his way through college as a fireman on a steam engine locomotive with the Southern Pacific Railroad.  Firemen on the railroad were responsible to keep the boiler fire going in order to create steam power for their train.

After college, Ray began his career as a Civil Engineer at Sperry Utah Company.  Throughout his career, he also worked in Texas, Missouri, and Ohio.  He retired from Hill Field Air Force Base in Utah as an Aerospace Engineer after 38 years of service. Following his retirement, Ray and Peggy served a family history mission.  They also enjoyed going on cruises together.

One of Ray's life-long passions was family history work. He dedicated many hours and years to work on family group sheets, clear names for the temple, and teach others how to find their ancestors.  Ray also enjoyed watching many different BYU sports teams and was an avid BYU fan.  He loved to play chess and won trophies and medals in several tournaments including a gold medal at the Huntsman Senior Games.

Ray was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and brother.  He is survived by his sister, Kathy (Brett) Paulsen; his children: Teresa (Brad) Byington, Gregory (Joni) Bassett, Bryan (Julie) Bassett, Rochelle (Grant) Blatter, and Richard (Tiffany) Bassett; 21 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren.  He was preceded in death by his wife, Peggy, and brother, Richard Bassett.  Ray passed away on August 20, 2022, four days before his 91 ^st birthday.  He received the best birthday present this year: being reunited with his wife, Peggy.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, August 27, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. in the Metcalf Mortuary Chapel, 288 West St. George Blvd., St. George, Utah. A visitation will be held Saturday, prior to the service, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the mortuary. Interment will be in Tonaquint Cemetery, 1777 South Dixie Drive, St. George, Utah.

Live streaming webcast is available by clicking on the broadcast at the bottom. Webcast will remain on-line for 90 days.

.