Erma Crook Campbell

Erma Crook Campbell was born November 17, 1921 in Santaquin, Utah to Ida Fay Patten and Oscar Fredrick Crook.  She passed away peacefully November 2, 2015 at her home in St. George, in the presence of family.

Erma attended elementary school in Santaquin, where she excelled in academics and skipped a grade. She could already read when she started school. She loved learning.

Erma attended high school in Payson, Utah and then moved to Pioche, Nevada to be with her brother, Lynn. She graduated from Lincoln County High School in Panaca, Nevada.  Her favorite subject was English, and her grammar and enunciation were flawless.

While living in Pioche, she met Linwood Wilkes Campbell whom she married on December 14, 1940. They were later sealed in the St. George Temple. They were the parents of one daughter, Linda, and four sons:  David, Deryl, Allen and Roger.

Lin was the postmaster in Pioche when they married, and while he served in the army during World War II , Erma was appointed acting postmaster, and worked there until his return.  Later she was employed by the telephone company for sixteen years.

Erma was blessed with the gift of faith and testimony as a child and loved the Gospel of Jesus Christ throughout her life. Always active in the Church, Erma served as stake and ward Relief Society President, Young Women’s President, and as Primary President twice--the second time she was called  she was 71 years old.  An excellent teacher, she taught in all the auxiliaries and was an early-morning seminary teacher for five years.  She and Lin served a mission at the Mormon Battalion Visitors Center in San Diego, California from 1999-2000. She indexed and arbitrated for the Family History Department, and was a dedicated patron in the St. George Temple, attending as many as ten sessions a week for several years.

Erma loved Pioche and loved the people there.  She served in PTA, Little League, Cub Scouts, the Chamber of Commerce, The American Legion Auxiliary, The Business and Professional Women’s Club, and on the Pioche Town Board.  She spent an extraordinary amount of time doing volunteer work in the community.  She was honored as Citizen of the Year for Pioche in 1991.  She supported and helped with the Labor Day Celebration in Pioche for years and was the Grand Marshall of the Labor Day Parade in 2006.  She initiated and was Chairman of the committee that raised the money to purchase and erect a Veterans’ Memorial Monument in Pioche.  Erma had a profound love for her country and was genuinely patriotic.

For years Erma walked several miles every morning.  When she was 72, she went with the youth on a fifteen-mile Pioneer Trek in July and had no problem “keeping up” with the young women, young men, and their leaders.

Erma enjoyed studying the gospel, reading good books, making quilts, and handwork.  She made friends easily and had myriads of friends whom she loved and valued.  Each year she sent hundreds of cards and e-mails to her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, extended family and friends.  Through her unconditional love and influence she was the glue that held her own family and generations of her extended family together. She felt the crowning glory and eternal monument of her life was her family.

Erma was a person of great energy and commitment.  She was intelligent and articulate.  She was often the first to recognize and meet needs in the Church and in the community.  She was a natural leader and a talented speaker.  She was committed to excellence. She often quoted and strongly believed—“Your Word is Your Bond,”—a lesson she learned from her parents

Erma valued the time she spent with those she loved.  She left a legacy of love, faith, service, loyalty and integrity.

She is survived by her five children: Linda (Eb Davis); David (Bonnie); Deryl (Shanna); Allen (Julie); and Roger (Trish), 31 grandchildren, 96 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren.   She is also survived by three siblings: Joan (Elwin Cole); Mary Bursik; and James Crook (Kathleen).  She was preceded in death by her husband and eight of her siblings.

We are grateful for the many kindnesses of friends and family. We are also grateful to Dr. Kent B. McDonald, and to Paige, Paula and Amy of Hospice.  We are especially grateful to her caregivers: Connie, Melea, and Vanessa.

A Funeral service will be held on Saturday, November 7, 2015 at 11:00 am at the Pioche Ward Chapel in Pioche, Nevada. There will be a viewing on Friday, November 6, 2015 from 6:30-8:00 pm in the St. George Green Valley Stake Center, 511 South Valley View Drive, St. George, Utah. On Saturday, the viewing will be held at the Pioche Ward Chapel from 9:30-10:30 am. Interment will be in the Pioche Cemetery under the direction of Southern Nevada Mortuary.