Raymond Leroy Skalstad

                          SKALSTAD, Raymond (Ray)  

Raymond (Ray) Leroy Skalstad passed away at home on May 17, 2018.  He was 90 years old, the age he always said he aspired to reach.

Ray, the third of six children, was born on April 17, 1928, in Fargo, North Dakota, to Christian and Karly Skalstad. Ray’s family moved to Spokane before the outbreak of World War II.  He graduated from Lewis & Clark High School in 1946.  While in high school, he worked part-time for Nick Rainier at the Center Market on Post Street in downtown Spokane where he met Nick’s daughter, Ann Rita, whom he married in 1948.  Ray and Ann celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary this past March.  As a young man, Ray went to work for Rosauer’s Supermarkets where he was known as a storyteller who entertained his customers while picking out quality produce for them. 

Ray and his son Mike opened the Bernard Street Market in 1974, and in 1982 they opened a second store, the Pumpkin Patch convenience store.  The Pumpkin Patch eventually became a WSLCB contract liquor store, and on May 3, 2007, Ray was named the Contract Manager of the Year for the state of Washington.  Ray was loved by his employees and customers alike for his easy-going manner, his stories, and his keen attention to customer service.  He retired in 2012.

In his younger years, Ray was involved with Jim Reilly in the boxing community.  Through the Bernard Street Market, he sponsored numerous youth activities, the Bernard Street Market Bears baseball team being especially dear to his heart. 

Ray loved remodeling houses and was always drawing up modernization plans for his own house and the houses of relatives and friends.  Ray loved teaching young people how to choose the right tools for remodeling jobs.  Ray loved watching Gonzaga basketball with his wife, Ann.  He loved a fire in the fireplace and turkeys so big that they barely fit into the oven on Thanksgiving and Christmas Days.  Ray loved sitting with Ann on the deck that his grandson Kevin built, feeding the squirrels and the birds in the back yard, and waving to neighbors as they passed by.

Ray is survived by his wife, Ann Rita; one sister, Marlys Skalstad; his sons Richard Lee (Karin) and Michael (Michelle); and his daughter, Theresa George.  He is also survived by six grandchildren: Aaron George (Samantha), Tina George, Anna Cantu (Josh), Kevin George, Sara Elkins (David), and Emily Savage (Jared).  He is further survived by 10 great grandchildren: Chandler, Winter, Eliot, Maria, Jessey, Lily, Jack, Kiara, Carson, and Owen.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Christian and Karly Skalstad; 2 brothers, Robert and Richard Dale Skalstad; 2 sisters, Doris Mosier and Lillian Pearson; and his son-in-law, Kenneth George.

A visitation will be held on Friday, June 1st, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Hennessey Funeral Home, 2203 N. Division.  The memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 2nd, at 2 p.m. at Hennessey Funeral Home, 2203 N. Division.  For those who wish to accompany the family, interment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery.  Donations may be made in Ray’s name to Hospice of Spokane, P.O. Box 2215, Spokane, WA 99210-2215.

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