Raymond Moeckly (1936-2021)

MOECKLY, SWAIN

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 7/28/2021 at 20:06:57

Rasmusson-Ryan Funeral Home
Obituary
Raymond Moeckly

Nevada, Iowa - Ray was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on January 7, 1936. His father, Harold, was an attorney who passed away when Ray was three years old, and he was raised an only child by his school-teacher mother, Lucile, on the family farm. Ray attended school in Elkhart and Ankeny and graduated from Ankeny High School in 1954. He obtained a B.S. degree from Iowa State University in 1959. Ray married Eleanor Swain on August 6, 1960, and just ten weeks after their first son Brian Harold was born they headed west to Colorado where they spent the first of three summers in Greeley. There Ray attended graduate school at the University of Northern Colorado, from which he obtained an M.S. degree in 1966. Two more sons -- Kevin Ray and Craig Swain – were later born.

Ray became an educator in the public-school systems at Dayton, Dows, and Nevada. For 38 years he taught generations of students a wide variety of skills in the industrial arts and technologies. He spent the last 27 years of his career at Nevada High School, where he substantially grew the program and introduced new courses to the curriculum.

Ray was a meticulous draftsman, a highly skilled woodworker, and a perfectionist in everything he constructed; he loved working with his hands. Ray was active in the Methodist Church his entire life. For many years he served as Scoutmaster of Troop 130 and encouraged all three of his sons to obtain the rank of Eagle Scout.

Over the years Ray and Eleanor developed passions for camping, hiking, and travel. Every summer Ray would drive his family all over the country with pop-up camper in tow exploring parks, monuments, and cities, and going on all sorts of adventures. Eventually they achieved Ray's goal of traveling to all the lower 48 states, Alaska, and all the provinces and territories in Canada – and then repeated it. After his retirement in 1997, Ray and Eleanor traveled the world, visiting over 70 countries including such far-flung places as Antarctica, the African bush, and Greenland.

Ray loved being out in nature. He visited numerous wilderness areas and believed that the grandest way to feel close to the Creator was hiking in the mountains and scaling its peaks, which he did again and again.

Most of all Ray was a devoted father and loving husband. He is survived by his wife Eleanor, his three sons, four grandchildren – Isaac, Jenna, Morgan, and Malia – a sister-in-law Julia Fevold, three nephews – Jim, Joel, and Steven Fevold – and one niece, Lisa Sparrow.

Visitation will be at the Rasmusson-Ryan Funeral Home Thursday, July 29, 2021 at the Rasmusson-Ryan Funeral Home in Nevada, Iowa. Funeral Service will be 10:30 a.m. Friday at First United Methodist Church in Nevada, Iowa.

Rasmusson-Ryan Funeral Home in charge of arrangements.

Posted online on July 28, 2021