Man Honored in Celebration of his 100th Birthday


By: Cecily Markland


At a recent celebration in honor of Ray Spykerman's 100th birthday, he was surrounded by family and friends, including (l to r) Melissa Rogers and her husband Bryan, with their daughters Kaylie and Renae and Nathan Throckmortion and his parents Gary and Peggy Throckmorton. Photo by Dawn Fessler.




Born April 20, 1910, Ray Spykerman recently celebrated his 100th birthday. At a celebration to honor his century of service and dedication, he was surrounded by family, friends and fellow members of the Merrill Creek Ward, Apache Junction Stake.

"I don't know why I'm sticking around," he says, "but as long as they let me, I'll stick around."

"I think I've lived a good life," he adds, with a laugh.

Those who know Ray Spykerman say there's no doubt about that.

At his birthday celebration, representatives from the U.S. Navy paid tribute to him, with commanding officer, David Flaherty acknowledging Ray's dedication, devotion, and loyalty to country. He was presented with a United States flag that had flown over the USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor.

Brother Spykerman joined the Navy in 1927 as a mess cook on a submarine. He later became a radio technician and helped to break Japanese code during WWII.

"They don't teach breaking code in school. I learned by experience," he says.

No small feat when the Japanese were known for encrypting their messages and for frequently changing the codes.

Brother Spykerman's former bishop, Kenneth Thomas, relates one memorable incident from the seaman's WWII experiences: "One night the Japanese sent out a coded message in the form of a weather report right after midnight. The code had just been changed and, of course, the United States was monitoring the communications. Fifteen minutes after the broadcast went out, Ray broke the code-so the U.S. Navy knew exactly what the Japanese's plans were for the next couple days. He got a lot of recognition for that incident."

"I think I earned my money that time," Brother Spykerman says. "They figured cracking that code saved millions of dollars and thousands of lives.

He also served as a cryptographer during the Korean War and spent the end of his 31-year Naval career in Washington, DC, and Germany working in National Intelligence.

"I've been retired for over 52 years," Brother Spykerman says.

He did retire from the Navy in 1958, but remained active and working on various projects. In 2000, he helped invent the owls' eye camera and panoramic rearview e-mirrors. His system of camera and mirrors is considered a technological breakthrough, as it provides a solution to navigation problems associated with rear-view blind spots in motorized vehicles.

Ray met the former Mary Banks in Utah in 1941. They were married shortly thereafter. Mary passed away in 2003, three weeks before her 91st birthday. Of their four children, their oldest, Mary Lynn (Parker), and youngest, Dennis Gale, also are deceased. Still living are Bryan Ray and Ellen Jean (Wagner). Brother Spykerman has 16 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and three more on the way, and 3 great-great-grandchildren.

Brother Spykerman joined the Church in 1951 in Washington, DC.

"My wife was born and raised in the Church, and when I got to reading up on it, it made a lot of sense," he says.

He served as Branch President in Japan, High Priest Group Leader in Germany, and in various other capacities over the years. Bishop Matthews says Brother Spykerman was always punctual and was a committed home teacher and tithe payer.

"I would often arrive at the church to find Brother Spykerman had beat me there, and he'd be standing there with his tithing envelope in hand," Bishop Matthews says. Brother Spykerman has seldom been ill throughout his life and isn't on any medication. He was a home teacher well into his 90s and is still an active league bowler. (See him on You Tube by searching for "100 Year Old Bowler.")

"Everything seems to be going pretty well," he says.