Recep Yalcin Okaya

Yalcin was born Dec. 24, 1929, in Izmir, Turkey. One of the highlights of his life was representing the Turkish National Basketball Team in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. As a result, he met Bob Cousy of the Boston Celtics, who invited him to coach at his summer youth basketball camp in New Hampshire. Cousy and fellow teammates Bill Sharman and Tommy Heinsohn encouraged Yalcin to remain in the United States. At this time Yalcin spoke no English but picked up American idioms and expressions from the camp teenagers. His teammates found him a room at the YMCA. The police chief of Quincy, Massachusetts, gave him a woolen blanket and found him a job washing transistor tubes at Raytheon Company. Here Yalcin became proficient in English.

One day, the head of human resources called Yalcin into his office and gave him a promotion. Yalcin had already earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Ankara University and had finally mastered the English language. He began working in the semiconductor division. Yalcin remained on the East Coast until 1967, when he moved to Silicon Valley. Yalcin remained at Raytheon in Mountain View, California, as a process engineer for over 30 years.

An avid skier, Yalcin met his wife, Sally, in Aspen, Colorado. Heli-skiing was a passion. He not only survived a helicopter crash and an avalanche, but skied a million vertical feet to earn the Million-Foot Suit. Yalcin continued skiing in his Bogner attire until the age of 86. He loved teaching his granddaughters to ski on the Wundercarpet at Dollar Mountain, Sun Valley, and rewarding them with a generous basket of Grumpy’s french fries.

Yalcin and Sally were world travelers. Once, son-in-law Brian asked, “Do you just spin the globe and go where your finger lands?” That was true. Yalcin traveled to six of the seven continents and especially enjoyed acting as a tour guide for his friends who visited Istanbul. Known as Turk, Yalcin was a skilled photographer and creator of slide shows that documented his travels.

A proper gentleman who always popped his collar, Yalcin loved to be the life of the party and center of attention. He was a storyteller, and his friends and granddaughters loved listening to him expound on his youthful escapades and adventures.

Yalcin is survived by his wife of 55 years, Sally; daughter, Engin Okaya (Brian Kruse); beloved grandchildren Jillian and Jenna; and nephew, Berlan Alan. He is preceded in death by his father, Vehbi; mother, Mufide; and sister, Necla. Yalcin will be buried in the Ketchum Cemetery and a celebration of life will be held in Sun Valley in December.