Lucybeth Rampton | |
Office: | First Lady of Utah |
Term Label: | In role |
Term Start: | January 4, 1965 |
Term End: | January 3, 1977 |
Predecessor: | Ora Packard |
Successor: | Norma Matheson |
Birth Name: | Lucy Elizabeth Cardon |
Birth Date: | 10 August 1914 |
Birth Place: | Washington, D. C., U.S. |
Death Place: | Millcreek, Utah, U.S. |
Spouse: | Cal Rampton (1940-2004, her death) |
Parents: | Phillip Vincent Cardon Leah Ivins |
Lucy Elizabeth Cardon Rampton (August 10, 1914 - January 23, 2004) was the First Lady of Utah between 1965 and 1977.[1]
Rampton was born in Washington, D.C. to Phillip Vincent Cardon and Leah Ivins. She grew up and attended school in Logan, Utah. She earned a bachelor's degree from Utah State University in Logan and her master's in anthropology at the University of Utah, which later awarded her an honorary doctorate. She was active in the university's Department of Anthropology for most of her adult life leading up to, and in part including, her years of service to Utah. She taught for two years at Westminster College in Salt Lake City.
She married Calvin L. Rampton on March 10, 1940, establishing a partnership eventually known to most Utahns as "Lucybeth and Cal". The two had met on a blind date while living in Washington.
Lucybeth suffered from severe depression and as First Lady she spoke publicly about her experience. In recognition of her efforts to raise awareness about mental illness, a new residential building at the Utah State Hospital was named in her honor in 2003.[2]
On January 21, 2004, she suffered a heart attack at her home and was rushed to the hospital. She died two days later at St. Mark's Hospital in Millcreek, Utah, aged 89. She was interred at the Salt Lake City Cemetery.