Raymond "Ray" Charles Mehrens

Raymond “Ray” Charles Mehrens, 85, passed away on Saturday, April 11, 2020, of natural causes at Peace Hospice with his family at his side. Cremation has taken place. Ray’s funeral liturgy will be held in Great Falls. His graveside service will be held in Butte at a later date, when all of his family and friends can gather. Ray’s ashes will be interred at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, Butte, MT. Ray was born on October 8, 1934, in Butte, MT to Arthur and Teresa (Mufich) Mehrens. He joined his sister, Lenore and brother, Arthur “Bud” Mehrens. After his aunt died, his two cousins AJ and Mary Kay Mufich became a part of their family. He was a true Butte Brat. Ray attended Sacred Heart Catholic Grade School and he graduated from Boys’ Central High School in 1952. During his school years, Ray played football and basketball, and during the summer he played American Legion Baseball. In 1957, Ray earned a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Minor in English Literature from Carroll College. He married his high school sweetheart, Carol Rhae Telling on August 18, 1956, at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Butte. They were blessed with three remarkable children, Mary Carol, David, and Patti Ann. His first teaching job and coaching job was at Helena Cathedral High School, the “Greenies.” He was the 13th head football coach and the assistant basketball coach. Ray always said, “I am sure I was more nervous than most of the students, but we learned together, and all went well.” His students adored him and gave him many mementos addressed, “To the Little Red Apple with the Fuzz on Top,” referring to Ray’s love of the crew cut. In 1958, he and Carol moved to Great Falls where he taught, was an assistant football coach for his cousin Bill Mehrens, and started the wrestling program at Great Falls Central Catholic High School (GFCCHS). In order for the wrestlers to practice, Ray gained approval from school officials to convert a storage room under the bleachers for a practice area. To this day many of his former students still refer to him as Mr. Mehrens. Even though it was hard for Ray to leave GFCCHS, he was provided an opportunity he could not pass up at Malmstrom AFB and thus, in 1965 his 35 years as a Department of Defense civilian began. Ray first worked as the Youth Center Director, where he could still mentor and influence youth. Not able to leave high school sports entirely, Ray became a football official. His family knew when he came back from difficult out-of-town games with his uniform still on, that at the end of the game the car had been running and they had taken the fastest road out-of-town. He was selected to officiate the 1974 East/West Shrine Football Game. In addition to officiating, Ray and his friend, Dick Brown launched a small business to recover and restore pool tables. Ray found his true passion when he accepted a promotion to work in the civilian personnel arena. Even though he worked at the installation level, his knowledge and expertise were sought out by personnel staff at all levels. He was often a guest instructor at Air University (AU), Maxwell-Gunter AFB, and he taught Labor Relations at Park College. Even after his retirement in 2000, he joined the staff at AU as a part-time faculty member. During his tenure in Labor Relations, he earned his certification as a Federal Mediator. Ray was selected in 1974 as a 1 of 30 Montana Kellogg Fellows in the Kellogg Extension Education Project at Montana State University. He had the unique experience to travel with the group to the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. Ray continued to teach in his retirement as he volunteered countless hours at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in their Children’s Education Program. In 2007, Ray earned the President’s Volunteer Service Award. Ray joined the Russell Country FCU Board of Directors and held various positions to include Chairman of the Board. In 1963, Ray and Carol purchased their first home in Riverview. It is in this house and with their children many found memories were made. Ray was founding members of St. Luke’s Catholic Church, now Corpus Christi, and was actively involved in Parish Council (the 1st President), BINGO, men’s softball team, religious education instructor, and assisted with various activities and special projects. He was his children’s coach for Little League and the YMCA Meadow Gold Youth Basketball Program. Ray was not used to coaching little girls and Carol would often have to remind him, he could not pat them on the butt to send them in to the game. You often would find him playing catch, basketball, or rubber band guns with the kids in the neighborhood. Ray loved to work with wood and upon his retirement in 2000, Ray fulfilled his lifelong dream of having his own wood shop. He took great pride in everything he built including his workbenches (one which was made from a bowling alley lane). Every tool and piece of equipment had its own space. Many of his family and friends were recipients of his creations and this provided him with great joy. As a die-hard sports fan, Ray loved college football and basketball, Carroll College, and the CMR Rustlers. He and Carol traveled to many sporting events across the state and country. Ray and Carol were fortunate enough to visit many places with their family and traveled to Europe with Patti in 2013 where they visited Germany, Luxemburg, Italy, and France. Ray was preceded in death by his mother and father; siblings and their spouses, Lenore and Donald McTavish, Mary Kay and Robert Davis, AJ Mufich; daughter, Mary Carol; father and mother-in-law, William “Buzz” and Loretta Telling; and in-laws, William “Bill” and Jan Telling and Rich McDougall. He is survived by his loving wife, Carol of 63 years; son and daughter-in-law, David and Clementine (Wolf) of Boise; daughter, Patti Ann of San Antonio; beloved granddaughter, Nicole Renay of Boise; brother, Arthur “Bud” of Lacey, WA; in-laws, Phil and Marlene Telling, Arlene McDougall, and Carol Mufich all of Butte, and Colleen Mehrens of Priest Lake, WA;former son-in-law, David (Tim) Turano of Annapolis, MD; and several special nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Butte Central Education Foundation, Great Falls Central High School, Lewis and Clark Foundation Children’s Programs, or an organization of the donor’s choice.