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Lucybeth Cardon Rampton 1914-2004
Let
there be trees there, Lord... -- Margaret Rampton Munk
Lucy Elizabeth Cardon Rampton passed away quietly on January 23, 2004 at HCA St. Mark's Hospital in Salt Lake City, after sudden heart failure. Her death ends a long and devoted career as scholar, wife, mother, grandmother, and tireless public servant, including twelve years as First Lady of the State of Utah from 1965 to 1976. She and husband Calvin L. Rampton have continued their active lives together until the very end, celebrating Cal's 90th birthday with family and friends in November of last year. Lucybeth was born to Leah Ivins Cardon and Phillip Vincent Cardon in Washington, D.C. on August 10, 1914, the great-granddaughter of Utah's earliest settlers. She grew up and attended school in Logan, Utah, receiving her B.A. degree from Utah State University. She later met and married her inseparable companion of 63 years, Calvin L. Rampton, on March 10, 1940, establishing a partnership eventually known to most Utahns as Lucybeth and Cal – shorthand for dedication to the State and devotion to family. Next to her love affair with Cal and her commitment to family, Lucybeth's greatest passion was learning. She earned her master's, and was later awarded an honorary doctorate in anthropology from the University of Utah. She was active in the Department of Anthropology for most of her adult life leading up to, and in part including, her years of service to Utah. In addition, she taught for two years at Westminster College in Salt Lake City. Her fascination with archaeology, anthropology and most particularly the pre-Colombian Americas served as her shelter, therapy, touchstone and point of perspective until her death. She rarely missed the opportunity to boast that the name of each of her four children is now followed by a doctoral degree. There was fierce passion, too, in Lucybeth's dedication to social and public causes. Both during and since Cal's years of public service, she championed women's rights, including the Equal Rights Amendment, Planned Parenthood, and – most significantly – the rights and dignity of the mentally ill. This cause, a direct outgrowth of her own years-long battle with clinical depression, where she acted both as unapologetic advocate and self-styled guinea pig in the development of treatments, eventually resulted in her name being placed on the rebuilt Utah State Mental Hospital in Provo, Utah. Lucybeth spoke her beliefs clearly and fearlessly – yet always with the disarming grace and caring which defined her life. Her grandchildren consider one of Lucybeth's greatest legacies to be the courage to speak their convictions. Throughout their long life together, Lucybeth and Cal were travelers. Both affairs of state and personal interest took them to Russia, China, Burma, Palestine, Iran, France, Italy, and more than 20 voyages to their beloved Southern England. Lucybeth is survived by her husband, Gov. Calvin L. Rampton; brother Phillip; sister Margaret; children Janet Rampton Warburton, Anthony L. Rampton and Vincent C. Rampton. She was predeceased by her oldest daughter, Margaret Rampton Munk, in 1986. Lucybeth and Cal also boast 16 grandchildren and, at present, six great-grandchildren. Friends and family are invited to call at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary, located at 3401 South Highland Drive in Salt Lake City, on Tuesday morning, January 27, 2004 from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Services will be held at the same location beginning at noon. Interment will follow at the Salt Lake City Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, well-wishers are urged to contribute generously, either to the National Association of Mental Illness – Utah Chapter, or to the University of Utah Museum of Natural History.
Published in the Deseret News from 1/25/2004 - 1/26/2004.