Raymond Purcell

He was born on April 3,1952 in Falelima, Western Samoa. He went to school in Samoa and graduated from the Church College of Western Samoa. Shortly after high school, he served an LDS mission in Western Samoa. He then migrated to the US with his family and attended BYU Hawaii.

He met his wife Sue through friends at BYU Hawaii and pursued her for four years before he was able to put a ring on her finger. He was a tenacious person, and waited while she went to Europe despite her telling him it wouldn’t work. They were married on October 11,1986. Raymond and Sue would go on to have four children together - Sally, Sarah, Douglas and Stephanie. Raymond also had two older sons Alika and Tyrone. He was a quiet man, and his family often joked that is why he ended up with Sue because she was the talker.

Being with his family was where he found his happiness. Every year, there was a trip planned to California so he could take his kids to Disneyland, Sea World, and the beach. He enjoyed giving them the opportunities that he wasn’t able to experience when he was young. Seeing their smiling faces and watching them have fun brought him so much joy.

Raymond was quite the outdoorsman and loved to hunt and fish. He was also a lifelong BYU fan who enjoyed attending and watching the games whether it was football, basketball, or volleyball. He enjoyed going to Bear Lake with the family and always looked forward to the annual “Big Bear Lake” trip with as many children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews that could make it. He always looked forward to having his eldest son, Alika, come over and cook traditional Samoan food for him. He loved visiting his son Tyrone and family in Canada and getting to experience life in a small town. He always came home with fun stories and especially had fun getting to watch the grandkids play sports.

Raymond retired in 2020. Nothing was more important to him than family and becoming a grandfather was THE highlight of his later years. He agreed with his father-in-law that “if he would have known how wonderful grandkids were, he would have had them first”.

Raymond is survived by his wife and better half Sue, children; Alika, Tyrone (Caylee), Sally, Sarah (Jordan), Douglas (Emilee) and Stephanie (Braden), his beloved grandchildren; Kalai, Slade, Kalani, Manaia, Brooklyn, Sophie, TJ and Cecelia, his siblings; Irwin (Piilani), Gordon (Ariane) and Teine (Nelson) and mother-in-law Sally Davis. He is preceded by his parents Mulivai and Mabel Purcell, father-in-law Douglas Davis and brother-in-law Reed Davis. It is no doubt a joyous reunion on the other side reuniting with his loved ones who went before him.

A viewing will be held on Friday, March 28 from 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm. On Saturday, March 29 there will be a viewing from 10:00 am – 10:45 am with the funeral at 11:00 – 12:00. Both events will take place at the LDS Church located at 2675 East 4430 South, Holladay, Utah 84124. Interment will take place at Wasatch Lawn located at 3401 So. Highland Drive, Millcreek, Utah 84106.

Please share your memories of Raymond at [email protected]