Charles Ray Kellogg passed away at his home September 25th. Ray was born to Charles Milton and Irene Virginia Evans Kellogg on July 6, 1944, in Boise, Idaho, the third of five children. He grew up on a small farm off Ustick Road in Meridian. He spent his youth helping on the farm, hunting ducks with his A5 Browning 12 gauge (one of his first prized possessions) and working on cars with his brother John. Aunts, uncles and cousins on both Evans and Kellogg sides of the family were close companions and friends. He graduated from Meridian High School in 1962. He went to work at Hood Construction installing gas lines with his brother John. He joined the National Guard and served for six years. In 1964 he ordered himself a brand new 1965 GTO and enjoyed cruising Main Street with his cousins and friends and tearing back and forth on the road to Idaho City. While working for Hood he learned to operate a John Deere backhoe. It wasn’t long after that he purchased a 400A Model and went into the backhoe business. Ray was a very motivated individual, enjoyed working and loved to make something from nothing. As a young man Ray and his brother Ricky never passed up an opportunity to pull on your ear. A ritual fondly coined “Kellogg Brain rot.” He also enjoyed giving everyone a nickname. Cousin Gina was fondly known as Ginafroot. His children were Crash, NayNay and Speed. He enjoyed water skiing behind his blue GlasPly boat. He jumped off the dock on a slalom ski perfectly timed and pulled by his brothers at Lucky Peak Reservoir. Ray met and married the love of his life Kathyrn Gene Webb, his brother John’s wife’s niece, in March 1971. They lived in Boise until moving to Kuna in 1977. Ray enjoyed teaching his children and others how to do things like how to waterski, shoot guns, fish, plant and care for a garden, change a tire, and build an engine. Ray loved spending time and playing with his family, taking them camping, fishing, snowmobiling, motorcycle riding in the mountains and driving along country roads in a pickup truck listening to Marty Robbins and others, crooning country love songs. He frequently would come home from work and take his family to water ski and eat dinner at the lake. His favorite camping areas were at Anderson Reservoir, Black Canyon, and Dead Wood. He loved his aunts and uncles, and cousins and visited them regularly throughout their lives. He lovingly cared for all of Kathy’s family as well. Ray loved partners and projects, and named his backhoe business Kellogg & Sons, his favorite partnership. Lee often rode on the backhoe from a young age. He loved to work with his brothers on projects. He developed a fast and efficient, streamlined method of installing septic systems along with the help of his brother, Ricky and father-in-law John McClain. He was a loyal companion and always up for any adventure Kathy could imagine. He square danced, investigated multilevel marketing companies and designed metal templates to use in a hydraulic press to stamp felt for Crazy Critters Kathy sewed and sold. He designed and built anything Kathy desired including wood and glass doll cases for her ceramic dolls. He was devoted to her and to taking care of his children and extended family. He worked in excavation and other ventures including a long-haul trucking company. When the economy was bad, he hauled sugar beets with his dump trucks and worked on pipelines in Alaska on the island of Unalaska. After opening his heart to the loving and persistent friendship of a dedicated home teacher and friend, Cliff Fitzsimmons, he stopped threatening the missionaries with his shotgun and invited them into his home, listened to their teaching, was baptized and became a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He was sealed with his family in the Idaho Falls Temple in 1975. He enjoyed his friendships and the opportunity to serve others in the church, especially while using his backhoes, dump trucks and boats. He loved the word of God and awed at the wisdom of those who taught from the scriptures. Corinne never saw dad pray more fervently than while Lee served his mission. Ray was tenacious. He worked on challenging problems until they were resolved. One of Lee’s favorite examples and impactful experiences with his dad was when Lee was a senior in high school. Ray started working on a hydraulic swing cylinder in one of his backhoes on a Saturday afternoon. Lee had worked that day and when he got home, he started helping his dad. The cap was locked on there and Ray wasn’t having an easy go getting to come loose. Lee wanted to have some social time and Ray agreed and let him leave around 8 pm. When Lee returned around 11:30 pm Ray was still working on getting the cap loose. He had fabricated a special socket type devise that allowed him to use a breaker bar with a 10’ cheater pipe to apply the torque needed to get it loose. Lee jumped in to assist and watched his father continue trying and trying until it finally broke loose around 2 am. Lee has relied on that example throughout his life time and time again learning that continued applied pressure on a problem and failure is only a learning experience as to what doesn’t work will result in positive outcomes. He was also patient. When Corinne put transmission fluid instead of oil in her college car, he kindly showed her what she did wrong and fixed her car. When she came home from a dance late one night, in the days before cell phones, he was waiting at the kitchen table, listened to her describe her adventure and praised her for doing the right thing. Ray and Kathy left their Kuna home and moved to Bowmont in 2005. Here Ray developed an enthusiasm for boats and loved to repair and collect them. At one point Lee told him if he needed a chainsaw to modify the boat he was working on, he may want to rethink fixing it. He was a bargain shopper and expert ebay and auction buyer. He enjoyed shopping online for great deals. In 2019 Ray moved in with Lee and his family. Although Ray struggled with his health and strength issues, he loved to always have a project to work on. He enjoyed the summer of 2023 with Corinne and her family boating, fishing, working on the 1954 Farmall tractor, riding his Can Am, picking raspberries, canning peaches and sitting on the porch. He will be greatly missed and his example will live on with his children and grandchildren. Ray is survived by his children Amber Corinne (Richard) Droesbeke, Vanessa (John) Burrill, and Raymond Lee (Athlyn) Kellogg. Grandchildren Audrey (Justin) Page, Willard Larkin Snow, Charles Dalton Snow, Brandon Lee Snow, Jacob (Jodi) Kellogg, Rachel (Grant) Dillard, Joel (Jaclyn) Kellogg, Rebekah and Jenny Kellogg. Great grandchildren Ryan, Eve and Kate Page, Tommy, Rainey and Micah John Kellogg, nieces Rhonda (Frank) Keller, Gina (Randy) Hardy, nephew Don (Cassy) Kellogg, nieces Alice (Rob) Kite, Ann Sturm, and many cousins. He is proceeded in death by his loving wife Kathyrn Gene Webb Kellogg, parents Charlie and Irene Kellogg, half-brother Carl, siblings John, Mary Sturm and Ricky. A happy reunion is taking place in heaven with his family. Special thanks for assistance from Alburn Hospice Care.
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