Ruth Egbert Downing

Ruth Egbert Downing

Dec 12, 1919 ~

Mar 13, 2012

Ruth Egbert Downing, 92, of Provo, Utah, passed away on March 13, 2012 of natural causes. Born December 12, 1919, to Albert LeRoy and Lydia Ann Tolman, Ruth spent her childhood in Murtaugh, Idaho, along with her eight siblings. She attended Murtaugh schools and then graduated from the Albion State Normal School with a teaching degree. Her first teaching job was in a one room school house. Eventually she began teaching first grade and met the handsome young principle who would become her husband. She and Lester Norman Downing, who preceded her in death, were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on May 27, 1942, shortly before Lester’s departure for duty in England during World War II.

After the war, the couple established residence in Logan, Utah, where she supported her husband in the pursuit of the advanced degrees which eventually landed him a faculty position at Brigham Young University in the Educational Psychology Department. Ruth bore nine children, one of whom, Kevin Charles, died in infancy.

Ruth was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Ruth loved to sew, quilt, knit and crochet. She valued her membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in numerous leadership positions. She, alongside her husband Lester, fulfilled a mission to England. She and Lester served many years as a temple ordinance worker in the Provo temple.

She is survived by eight of her children, Carolyn Kaye (Nelson) Marks Colonial Heights, VA, Lauralee Lehi, Utah, Galen Lester (Eliana) Downing, Woodland Hills, UT, Randy Norman (Nancy) Downing, Sandy, UT, Roxann (Jim) Malarsie, Bosque Farms, NM, Bret Albert (Lisa) Downing, Rock Wall, TX, Dahlen Ralph Downing, (Evelyn) American Fork, UT, Jill Ann (Dave) Thornock, Grand Haven, MI., 51 Grandchildren. Always willing to give of herself, quietly and humbly, never seeking or wanting the recognition she deserved.

She is preceded in Death by: Husband, Parents, brothers and sisters, Kevin Charles (son), Caleb Sadler (great-grandson)

Funeral services will be held Wednesday, March 21 at 11:00 at the Lehi Drycreek Ward Chapel at 37 East 820 South, Lehi, Utah; where friends may visit with the family from 9:30 – 10:45 Wednesday morning, prior to the funeral services. Interment will be at the East Lawn Cemetery, Provo, Utah. Arrangements are under the care of Walker Sanderson Funeral Home in Orem. Online condolences may be extended to the family at www.walkersanderson.com.