Raymond Louis Mayo

Raymond Louis Mayo was born on September 6, 1932, in Longview, Texas to Harry Mayo and Lena Alvina Heene. He passed away on April 26, 2022, in Provo, Utah surrounded by his family who sang him into the next life with the songs of Zion that he loved. He was 89 years and 7 months old.

He is survived by his beloved wife of 63 years, Leanne Agnes Beer; five children: Lisa (Shaun), Dana (Gary), Molly, Jeremy (Chiaki), Kimi (John); 14 grandchildren: Lisanne, Mitch, Devon, Chelsie, Erin, Kelly, Josh, Jarom, Sadie, Spencer, Raymond, Sarah, Asher, Stella; 14 great grandchildren; siblings: Katherine and Alvin (Diana); many nieces and nephews who adored him.

He is preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Harry Jr.; his son, Michael Raymond.

Raymond had the gift of storytelling. His tales of a boyhood spent running barefoot with his brother among the long needle pines of East Texas were like something out of Huckleberry Finn—their mama cooking up the rabbits and birds they hunted and the fish they caught for supper. Raymond preserved these stories in his book, Ruminations: Recollecting Life in East Texas during the Great Depression and the Great War by A Child and Beneficiary of The Greatest Generation. Raymond inherited his mother’s gift for cooking. As a result, breakfast in our Daddy’s kitchen was a particular family favorite—especially the buttermilk biscuits.

Raymond graduated from Longview High School and enlisted in the United States Navy when he was 18 years old. He served as a submariner on the USS Volador SS-490: a WWII submarine. He turned 21 years old under the frigid Arctic waters of the East Siberian Sea. It was during a military exercise 400 feet below the Pacific on his hands and knees in the battery well—the closest space in the closest of spaces—that he began his lifelong relationship with the Lord, knowing that even in that tiny hole under the sea, God knew who he was, where he was, and that he was not alone. Raymond wrote about this transformative time in his life in his book, Diving Lessons: Being an Account of Life Lessons Learned Aboard a U.S. Submarine in the Korean War.

Raymond was a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the North Central States Mission (1955 – 1957). He said that the Navy taught him to be a man, and his mission taught him to be a Christ-centered man. He recounted his life as a Mormon missionary in his book, Spreading The Word.

Raymond enrolled at BYU on the G.I. Bill where he met and married Leanne Agnes Beer on December 19, 1958, in the Salt Lake Temple. This union was the beginning of his dream of having a large family—sitting by a fireside with children all around and a baby in his lap — and the fulfillment of Leanne’s patriarchal blessing which promised her a companion who would love her as he loved his own flesh. As a Daddy, there was nothing he couldn’t fix. He always had a tool, a salve, a word, or a kiss to make everything all better.

Raymond graduated from BYU Business School and earned an MBA from Indiana University. He then began his career and grew his family in San Jose, California. He and Leanne carved deep impressions in their church, professions, and community while rearing their family of six children. They were good and busy years, but something was missing. Raymond had an affable and charming personality and was always able to provide by selling something: medical, beauty, and office supplies, as well as books and stocks. Making a good living fed his family, but it did not feed his soul. In 1976, Raymond made a long-prayed-for career change and began selling something that truly benefited his clients: life insurance. This also facilitated another long-yearned-for change: a return to small-town life. Raymond moved his family to Twin Falls, Idaho to begin his 17-year career with Beneficial Life. He always said that the 6 years he spent in Twin Falls were some of his happiest.

Raymond concluded his career with Beneficial Life as the Salt Lake City Agency Manager, which brought him and Leanne full circle to Utah, where they began. He summarized his career and family life in his book, The Hollow of His Hand, in which he attests that life need not be perfect to be happy and satisfying, and that all things work together for our good.

In 1996 Dad took off his wristwatch, traded his power ties for flower ties, and retired to his cozy country home in Midway, Utah where he spent 26 years pursuing what he loved most: turning wood in his shop; hosting grand family gatherings; gardening; reading scripture, history, and philosophy; writing letters “to the editor”—and authoring six books! His final book, A Guide to Greatness, brings together the writings of the thinkers that affected him most—among whom were Emerson, Thoreau, and Tolstoy. To their words, he added his own “Theory of Everything,” which follows:

EVERYTHING has always been and will always be. Matter, life, spirit is eternal. There is no beginning and there will be no end.

EVERYTHING is the effect of a cause and, in turn, becomes a cause. The only constant in all of creation is constant change.

EVERYTHING is an integral part of everything else. From the smallest atom to the farthest galaxy, it is all one. Nothing exists alone.

EVERYTHING in all creation is unique. No two things are exactly alike, not even two grains of sand along the seashore.

EVERYTHING has a time, a place, and a purpose. Nothing exists by accident, chance, or caprice. There is order in all things.

EVERYTHING is self-perpetuating. The laws of inertia and of attraction apply to all things. Good begets good. Bad begets bad.

EVERYTHING in all creation is always in balance. What we gain here, we lose there. The whole remains the same. Gain and loss are entire.

EVERYTHING is governed by inexorable, eternal, universal law. Even the God of all creation operates by those laws.

EVERYTHING is perfected by love without cost or obligation. Love benefits all humanity and demands nothing. Love is always the answer.

Raymond Mayo lived with intention, wit, purpose, passion, and depth. Being acquainted with Raymond was to be enriched. To be in his family was to be blessed. Oh! How he will be missed!

Visitation with Family on Thursday, May 5, 6 – 8 p.m. and Friday, May 6, 10 to 11 a.m. at Probst Family Funerals 79 E. Main St. Midway, Utah.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, May 6 at noon at the Midway Town Hall, 75 N. 100 W. Midway, Utah.

Graveside Service on Friday, May 6 at 4 p.m. at Spanish Fork City Cemetery, 420 S. 400 E. Spanish Fork, Utah

To watch virtually, visit: My.gather.app/remember/raymond-mayo


In lieu of flowers, please donate to the charity of your choice to support the people of Ukraine who were very present in his heart at the time of his passing.