Beloved Husband, Father, Son, Brother.

Joseph Lincoln Raynes PhD, age 64, passed away peacefully January 10, 2010, surrounded by his eternal family, after a battle with brain cancer.

He was born June 21, 1946, in Provo, Utah to Beth Milner and Lincoln Frances Raynes; he was the second of eight children. Much of his childhood was spent on the Oregon Coast. While at BYU, Joe met his beautiful wife Alice Nielsen in a laundromat and it was love at first sight. Their first conversation began with his joke about both having red hair. They married in the Salt Lake Temple on May 27, 1969. They have ten children, all redheaded. It was impossible to be around Joe and not know he loved his family, the Gospel, and serving others.

Joseph completed his Bachelors and Masters degrees at BYU and earned his PhD at Texas A&M University. He served and inspired others throughout his lifelong career in Education. He was an Elementary School Teacher, Principal at Joaquin Elementary, Dean of Continuing Education, Dean of Trades and Technology, and Associate Academic Vice President at Utah Valley State College. He was instrumental in bringing the Education Program to the now Utah Valley University. He loved being a Professor of Education. His influence is carried through the countless teachers he molded.

Traveling the world extensively, Joe was always in search of opportunities to serve others. Fluent in both Portuguese and Spanish, he lived in Bolivia and traveled throughout South America with his young family while working with the Bolivian government. He lived in Colonia Juarez, Mexico working with the Juarez Stake Academy, and traveled to Mongolia to develop their higher education programs during their transition from Communism. He was a gifted storyteller who weaved his life experiences into tales that both entertained and edified.

He was a dedicated servant of the Lord, who served an honorable LDS mission in the Brazil North Mission. He labored as Branch President at the MTC, Bishop of Cascade 2nd Ward, High Council Member in Orem Cascade Stake, Ordinance Worker in the Mount Timpanogos Temple, and a member of the Curriculum Resource Committee. A gifted teacher of life and salvation, he lived to bring action to the Gospel’s precepts.

Joe was a builder of homes, ideas, and lives. A gentle giant, who was steadfast, thoughtful, humble, and strong; he spent his life in quiet service. His greatness was shown by his Christ-like love, the warmth of his smile, the power of his patience, the richness of his intelligence, his ability and desire to teach even the hardest of hearts, his comedic timing, and his gift to uplift others through his faith, stories, and unconditional love. His love of the Savior showed in everything he did.

He is survived by his loving wife of 41 years, Alice Nielsen Raynes, and their ten children: Janelle (Nathan) Gerber, Michelle, Denise (Paul) Pitcher, Alison (Marshall) Smith, Melanee, Stefanie (Nate) Farnsworth, Jonathan (Daniela), Danielle (Bryan) Kennedy, Derrick (Alexa), David (Sydney), and their 17 grandchildren. He is also survived by his father and five sisters.

We will post details for the viewing and the funeral soon.

Update

Hello family and friends.

Joe had an MRI last week and from the growth of the tumors (treatment didn't impact their growth, sadly), the doctors have given a guesstimate of a month or two left until the cancer takes him. He has begun home hospice care. His pain is acute and constant so we are doing our best to manage that pain with medication.

We are allowing visitors by appointment only. The visits are short and have the potential of being canceled at any time, based on how he is feeling. If you would like to visit, please contact Melanee Raynes.

We still ask that you do not ring the doorbell or drop in so we can manage things for his comfort.

Our hearts are touched by the outpouring of love, concern and support from all of you. Just as my dad was a great example to me of Christ's love, you all are exemplifying Christ's love in your actions, prayers and thoughts for us. We thank you.

Love to you all.

Rehab

Dad has been in rehab for almost two weeks now. He is still sleeping a lot and quite tired when not sleeping. We hope to bring him home this week but nothing is set in stone. We will not be able to accept visitors at the house when we bring him home.

We have received many kind cards and notes, thank you. Also, thank you for your prayers, we're sure they're helping him and my mom through this process.

Post Cranny

The nurses call brain surgeries "crannies" or "cranny" in the singular form. Dad had his fifth today and everything went well. They placed 11 chemo wafers in the tumor cavity and those should last around 6 weeks. We hope this chemo works better than the last. Dad is luckily back in his room and not in ICU. He has been in some pain, which is expected with surgery, and sleeps a lot. We're glad he sleeps, he's recovering well. We hope to bring him home soon.

Thank you all for your prayers.

Dad Update: Emergency Surgery

Dad had another headache that would not go away, so he went in for a scan. They found some bleeding in his brain, and another tumor, so they set him up for emergency surgery. The surgery went well and he is now resting in the ICU. Miracles are happening again! They said that he would lose vision in his left eye and motor function on his left side, but only hours after surgery, he had not lost any of his eye sight or his motor functioning!

I got an email from Danielle explaining his recovery. I'll post it here and you can here it from her!

"Here is the latest update on Dad. This morning he was looking so much better than yesterday! His swelling has gone down dramatically, even though there is still some. They are still draining fluid, and that could be for a little while longer. The doctors came in and took out one of the pumps, and let him sit up and eat solid foods. He also got up and walked around a bit! The best news though, is that he hasn't lost any of his vision in his left eye like they told us he would, and even though his left side of his body is a little weaker than the right, he has full function!! So he is mending!!

The doctors told us that we are figuring out what is going on with his blood first before we make any other plans for the cancer treatments. The plan is to have him heal up from his surgeries and then we'll figure out the next steps. But remember, he is doing much better than the doctors were expecting!

He was also unblinded from the study. He found out that he was taking the placebo, not the Avastin which could be a blessing itself because the Avastin can cause bleeding so it might have made all this even worse. We are seeing miracles and good things happening so keep up all that praying! It's working!!

Love to all,
Dani"

Dad Update!

Dad and Mom went on an awesome trip the last week of July funded by an anonymous donor. If you’re reading this, Mr. Anonymous, THANK YOU! They had the best time. They came out to visit ME in Florida! It felt like Christmas having them here all to myself. They also went on a cruise and had an amazing time. They said they didn’t even think about the cancer the whole time they were on the ship, they just relaxed and enjoyed their time together.

On August 3rd, Dad started radiation and Temodar (chemo). He goes to radiation 5 times a week Monday-Friday, and as I type this he only has two weeks left! He also takes his chemo medicine everyday. As their insurance is not paying for the chemo, we thought they would have to pay out-of-pocket the 10,000 a month price tag, but the Commitment To Care Foundation, thanks to many prayers, is providing the chemo free of charge. We are SO GRATEFUL. It is truly a miracle.

The radiation makes Dad tired, but he is starting to feel better as he gets off the Decadron. The Decadron also gave him some diabetes issues, but he will hopefully get off insulin soon. He is also starting to lose his hair, but he looks cool bald. The doctor found some blood clots in his legs, so he also now gets two injections a day for that. My dad, the walking pin-cushion.

Good news! Dad starts the study on September 8th. The study is an experimental drug that has shown amazing results. It is a miracle that he got into it and we are so happy! He will get a 90-minute infusion the first day, then in 2 weeks, a 60-minute infusion, then in two weeks a 30-minutes infusion. If he handles those well, he will continue on the 30-minute.

All in all, Dad is doing well. He is the toughest man alive. Please keep him in your prayers. He is so grateful for all the prayers and help so far. Thank you!

Play time

Mom and Dad are playing this week. A long-deserved, long-delayed period of play.

First, fun with kiddos in Florida.

Second, fun on a cruise ship.

Third, fun at Disneyworld with kiddos.

Fourth, fun at the hospital to get chemo. Wait, that's fun? Oh, oops.

But...if you know my dad, somehow he will make chemo something he can crack a joke about, find some silver lining to, teach a lesson from.