Raymond 'Ray' Huffman, 85

Raymond ‘Ray’ Huffman passed away at Pinehurst Senior Community on Monday, Aug. 10, 2026. Ray was born in Great Falls, Mont., on March 1, 1941, to Erven and Alice Huffman.

He attended school in Great Falls and Wallace before the family moved after his junior year. He graduated from Suislaw High School in Florence, Ore., in 1959. Following graduation, Ray enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving four years in Hawaii. He received the rifle sharpshooter award and was honorably discharged in 1963 with a rank of corporal (E-4).

After serving his country, he returned to Idaho and lived at the family home in Mullan while attending carpenter’s trade school in Spokane, Wash. During his career, Ray worked on many projects in the Northwest, notably the movie sets of "Heaven’s Gate" and "Dante’s Peak," and on various concrete projects, including Placer Creek and the smokestacks in Kellogg.

Ray’s passions were the dogs he had through the years that he treated as his children (and spoiled like grandchildren!) and his hobbies. He was an avid hunter, spending many seasons in the St. Joe River area. In his younger years, Ray loved riding motorcycles and racing them. He accumulated many trophies while he was a member of the Mountaineer Motorcycle Club.

After he quit racing, he embraced competitive shooting and especially enjoyed 1,000-yard target events. Those competitions took him throughout the western states, where he received many awards, including one first-place finish. Ray was instrumental in finding the land and constructing the Shoshone County Public Shooting Range, where he volunteered for decades. He truly enjoyed helping and visiting with people at the range. Ray was also a regular at Sam’s Cafe in Kellogg, where he was treated as family. He would always get a sausage patty to go for his dog, who’d be patiently waiting in the truck!

Ray is survived by his younger siblings, Carol Reynolds, Donna Sheppard, Lorraine West, Gary (Dana) Huffman, Cheryl Christopherson (Kevin) and many nieces and nephews. Ray was preceded in death by his parents and brothers-in-law George Reynolds, Jim Sheppard, Jim West and Rick Christopherson

A casual service will be held at the Silver Valley Worship Center in Smelterville on Friday, Aug. 21 at 1 p.m., followed by a reception at the shooting range. Memorials can be made in his honor to the Shoshone County Public Shooting Range or Shoshone Pet Rescue.

Memories of Ray and messages of condolence may be shared online with this family at www.shoshonefuneralservice.com. Shoshone Funeral Services of the Silver Valley is caring for the Huffman family.