Ruth Esther Cracroft

May 23, 1923 ~ July 3, 2013
The compassionate one.
After 90 years of loving service to her family and fellow man, Ruth passed away peacefully in her sleep on July 3, 2013 in Salt Lake City, UT.
Ruth was born in Blanding, UT on May 23, 1923 to humble, righteous parents Karl and Pauline Eichenburger.
Ruth was the sixth born of nine children, and she was the last surviving child.
Ruth moved to Salt Lake City, where she met and married her Navy-man, Vernon Thomas Cracroft, a.k.a. Blackie, on March 10, 1942.
Together they raised four children whom she loved dearly: Nita (Dennis) Call, Linda (Wess) Arbon, Tom (Pat) and John Dean (in addition to multiple dogs, all named Tiki).
Ruth’s happiest days were when her children were young and together for family home evening, church activities, camping trips, and prayers.
Ruth was employed as the office manager for Dr. Vernon Stevenson for 14 years.
She retired from managing Doxey Hatch Pharmacy in 1993.
Her work was never just a job for her. Ruth cared deeply for the people she worked for and with.
Her thorough precise work was greatly appreciated by her colleagues, and the care she rendered for the patients was inspiring.
She knew the names and families of those around her, and she found unique ways to encourage them and help them strengthen themselves.
The love she had for the patients was magnified in the work she performed after work hours.
Ruth’s true joy came from being a productive, self-sufficient, helpful person.
It was common to find Ruth delivering prescriptions to patients, sewing award-winning road show costumes, canning produce she harvested from her garden, creating custom quilts, baking her renown banana bread, or pouring through piles of genealogy work including over ten thousand names she indexed for the cause.
All of this was accomplished while raising four children and caring for her mother, who lived with Ruth for 14 years before she passed away.
As difficult as that was, it did not compare to the grief Ruth experienced as she buried her husband and both of her sons within a 15-year span.
Heavy-hearted yet resolute, Ruth continued to look for ways to help her friends and neighbors, to fulfill her many church responsibilities, and love and teach her family members to discover the good this life has to offer.
Ruth leaves behind a rich legacy, and her grateful posterity will forever cherish the memories of her ability to overcome difficult times, her desire to happily share of her many talents, and her ability to live a life that illustrates her testimony of Jesus Christ.
Her family has grown to 15 grandchildren, 31 great-grandchildren, and 1 soon-to-arrive great-great-grandchild.
They have all benefitted from the tireless hours Ruth spent in establishing beloved family traditions of giving Tiki gifts at family parties, decorating gingerbread houses, visiting care centers, and enjoying the splendor of Ashley National Forest.
The family traditions she established will continue to bless many generations to come. Ruth’s life was truly a gift to us all.
Funeral services were Monday, July 8 in Salt Lake City.
Rocky Mountain Hospice was much appreciated during Ruth’s last weeks on this earth.
In lieu of flowers, Ruth has asked for donations to be made to either the Humanitarian or Perpetual Education Fund of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.