Jill Wray

Jill Hammer Wray, 54, of Shelley, ID, passed away peacefully on December 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, ID. 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 over 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, ID 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 LDS church, 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, ID LDS temple on June 24, 1981 and raised 5 wonderful children on a small farm in Woodville.

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

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, January 3, 2015 at the Woodville First Ward Chapel (1555 North 700 East). The family will receive friends Friday evening January 2, 2015 from 6:00 till 8:00 p.m. at Nalder Funeral Home (110 West Oak) in Shelley and Saturday morning from 9:30 till 10:40 a.m. at the church. Interment will be in the Shelley Hillcrest Cemetery.