Craig Raymond

Obituary for
Craig Milford Raymond

Craig Milford Raymond, 73, died peacefully at his home in Provo, Utah, attended by his beloved wife Carolyn, on October 15, 2018.

Craig was a loving father, husband and grandfather, and had an engaging personality and wit as large as his 6'11" frame. He was born in Aberdeen, Washington on April 5, 1945, and attended Hudson's Bay High School in Vancouver, Washington, where he starred in basketball and track. He accepted a basketball scholarship offer to Brigham Young University, where his basketball career and personal life flourished. His BYU teams competed in the NCAA Tournament in 1965 and in 1966 won the National Invitation Tournament in New York City. In the championship game he scored 21 points with nearly the same number of rebounds.

During his time at BYU he made two life changing decisions. He joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and met and married his sweetheart, Carolyn Bodily. They raised four daughters, Taylor (husband Marcus), Tarah, Tawny (husband Claude), and Bryn, and have (9) grandchildren.

Craig had a varied professional basketball career, after being drafted in the first round of the NBA draft, as well as in the early rounds of the newly formed American Basketball Association draft. He played one year in Europe with the Simmenthal team in Milano, Italy, then a year with the Philadelphia 76ers, followed by several stops in ABA cities. His ABA highlight was an improbable late season streak with the Los Angeles Stars all the way to the ABA finals against the Indiana Pacers. He was involved with a number of business ventures, and served in many Church capacities, including serving as a Bishop in the San Diego area.

He is survived by his loving wife Carolyn, and brother-in-law Bill Bodily (wife Janet), as well as three children and spouses and grandchildren . He was preceded in death by their daughter Tarah and Carolyn's sister Sharon.

Funeral services will be held at Nelson Family Mortuary in Provo, Utah on Weds, 10/24. Visitation will be from 10:00a.m.-10:45 with service to follow at 11:00a.m.