Joseph Ray Fielding

Joseph Ray Fielding, 85, of Idaho Falls, passed away peacefully at his home surrounded by his loving family on August 16, 2020, of heart failure.

Ray was born March 10, 1935, in Taylor, Idaho, to Verl and Alice Fielding. He was the middle child and the first son of his four siblings. He attended Taylor Elementary School and Shelley High School. He grew up on a farm in Taylor where he learned to love farming. He started driving tractors at a young age and learned a good work ethic. He played basketball and baseball during high school. His love for sports continued throughout his life and he passed that on to his children.

He served in the Northern California Mission from 1956-58.

He attended Idaho State University for a year and a half and then transferred to BYU. He received his bachelor’s degree with a major in mathematics and minor in physics.

He married Lynda Crockett on July 12, 1963. They recently celebrated their 57th wedding anniversary. She was the love of his life. They were blessed with three children: Mike, Tina and Creg.

He worked as a Nuclear Physicist at the INEL site for many years and eventually as a Nuclear Safety Manager in Idaho Falls. He excelled in his career. He authored a publication following experimental tests to identify the trajectory, quantity and identity of each radioisotope released from water being interjected into a nuclear reactor; these tests confirmed many theoretical aspects of potential effects of small space reactors crashing to earth.

He was an active, strong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He served in many callings including Bishop of the 28th Ward. He and Lynda served a mission together to Fiji for 18 months in 1996.

He loved to travel and introduced his children to the beauty of the world. Every summer weekend was spent camping in the mountains of Eastern Idaho. He often took his family on summer vacations with his brother's family. Ray and Lynda were blessed to travel to many interesting places throughout the world.

He enjoyed gardening; his peas were looked forward to every year! His lawn was always well manicured and beautifully green! He always had dirt under his fingernails and enjoyed driving out to the farm to check the progress of the crops while eating peanuts and throwing the shells out the window.

He is survived by his wife, Lynda Crockett Fielding; his children, Michael Ray Fielding (Karen), Christina Robertson (David), and Creg Verl Fielding (Janae); 13 grandchildren and 10 great-grand children; and his sisters, Colleen Longhurst and JoAnn Sargent.

He was preceded in death by his father, Melvin Verl Fielding; his mother, Alice Elaine Oler Fielding; his siblings, Gary Frank Fielding and Kenneth Paul Fielding.

A graveside service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, August 21, 2020 at Taylor Cemetery. The family will visit with friends from 9:30-10:30 a.m. prior at Wood Funeral Home, 273 N. Ridge Avenue. The service will be streamed at https://meet.google.com/dxe-zcys-yuj .