Dad's obituary and picture 2-21-2012

Marshall Ray Craig, of Springville, Utah, aged 95, died of causes incident to age early on the morning of February 15, 2012. Marshall leaves behind a family who adored him and dear friends in many places around the world. Marshall was born in the long-since-disappeared oil boom-town of Goss, in northern Louisiana on August 5, 1916, to Wilford Garland Craig and Cora Alice Moreland. While he was still a young child, Marshall's family moved to El Dorado, Arkansas.

Marshall attended Brigham Young University from 1936 to 1941. He first studied chemistry, but soon switched his major to English. Teaching literature and writing became his life's work. Following graduation from BYU in 1941, Marshall entered the Navy Reserve and while in training in New York City, met his future wife and soul mate, Ruth Haglund. Marshall and Ruth were married in 1944 in the Salt Lake Temple while Marshall was on a brief leave. Marshall served as executive officer on two mine sweepers; as captain of two others.

Following the war, Marshall and Ruth lived near and in New York City while Marshall pursued graduate degrees at Columbia University. During this time, Ruth gave birth to four children: Martha, Alan, Christine, and Louise. In 1953, Marshall accepted a job at Brigham Young University and moved the family to Provo, Utah where Alison and John were born. In 1959, the family moved to Canyon Drive, in Springville, Utah. Marshall taught in the BYU English Department, serving in various leadership roles, including department chairman, until his retirement in 1981. He is fondly remembered by many students and faculty.

During 1970-71, Marshall, Ruth, and the four still-at-home children spent a year living in England, while Marshall pursued research at the British Museum Library. While there, Marshall and Ruth and the family formed lasting friendships with neighbors and fellow church members. 

 

Marshall was a dedicated member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and served in many callings, including missionary, councilor in branch presidencies, high councilor, councilor in a stake presidency, and bishop. His favorite calling was teaching the elders quorum in the Kolob 6th Ward. After his retirement, Marshall and Ruth, feeling that they might be able to represent the Church in a place where missionaries were not allowed, spent three years teaching at universities in Xian and Nanjing, China. They made many fast friends there also.

Marshall is survived by one brother, Wilford Keller “Kay” Craig, of Dickinson, Texas; children: Martha (David) Sargent of Springville, Utah; Alan (Janice) Craig of Falls Church, Virginia (serving a mission in Brazil); Christine (Duane) Seppi of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Louise (Robert) Nickelson of Payson, Utah; Alison Craig of State College, Pennsylvania; and John (Elaine) Craig of Orem, Utah. Marshall has 21 grandchildren and 23 surviving great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, six siblings, two great-grandchildren, and his beloved Ruth.

Friends may call at Wheeler Mortuary, 211 E 200 S in Springville from 6–8 pm on Friday, February 24, 2012; or from 9:30 – 10:30 am Saturday, February 25, before the funeral at the Hobble Creek Seventh Ward Chapel, 1965 E Canyon Road, in Springville; funeral service begins at 11 am. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations be made to the Springville Public Library, 45 South Main, Springville, Utah 84663. Interment: Springville Evergreen Cemetery.

Dad passed away in the night 2-15-12

Dear family and friends,

Dad passed away in the night last night. His official time of death is 12:10 a.m. Feb. 15, but that's really the time the staff at the care facility found he'd died. I like to think he really died on Valentine's Day, the day Mom was buried. (But Dad might think I'm being sentimental, and he didn't like sentimentality!)

Although no family was there (from this side) when he died, I believe Mom was with him - not sentimentality but conviction - and family members were with him earlier in the day yesterday. Martha was with him till about three in the afternoon, and he seemed to be much the same as he'd been before, not in physical distress. Martha thinks the staff probably checked on Dad at least once after she left.

By the time Lucy came at about five, Dad was struggling, choking on phlegm and gasping for breath. I'm not sure of the exact sequence of events, but I think Lucy called Barbara (his hospice nurse), who called the care facility and told them he needed to have morphine every hour. My impression is that the medication helped ease his breathing.

Lucy had to leave at 8:30 yesterday evening, and we trust that the staff continued to administer the morphine hourly and the ativan at two-to-four hour intervals to help him breathe more easily through the rest of the night until he passed away.

We've scheduled the funeral for 11 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25 to allow time for family to gather. There will be a viewing Friday, Feb. 24 at Wheeler Mortuary in Springville from 6 to 8 p.m. and a viewing Saturday morning from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the chapel at 1965 E. Canyon Road in Springville. The funeral will follow at 11 a.m. PLEASE NOTE: the viewing and funeral will NOT be in the chapel right by Dad's house. Continue up Canyon Road as if you're going to the golf course. The next chapel on your left is the correct one.

I was relieved when I received the call in the night that Dad had died - being far away and unable to help and only receiving snippets of information has been very hard. Today rather than a lump in my throat, I have a balloon in my chest. I'm sure as the grief comes up, it will ebb and flow.

I'll keep the blog up until some later time. I want to invite people to tell their favorite stories about Dad.

Thanks for your love and concern.

Update on Dad 2-12-12

Dear family and friends,

Dad is failing, and my brother John told me tonight that he thought it was "a matter of a very short time" until Dad passes away.

On Friday (the eleventh anniversary of Mom's death), I received a phone call from my friend Barbara (Dad's hospice nurse) at about 2:30 Eastern Time that Dad's renal output was at 100 milliliters in 8 hours--very low--and that he was so lethargic that morning that his aide thought he might be dying. Barbara had called Martha who wasn't going to be available till evening, so I called Lucy and John.

My sister-in-law, Elaine arrived there first, and Dad seemed pretty normal to her, but later, both Bob and Lucy saw changes in him. He had continuous tremors, he was feverish and hot to the touch. His renal output was down (between 100 and 200 milliliters in 8 hours), he refused food. He had 2 sips of thickened water and that was it.

Barbara worked very hard to get morphine and ativan for Dad as quickly as possible. Barbara explained to me that the ativan makes the morphine work better. Barbara told me today the morphine also helps with his breathing. She told me that his breathing was at 40 breaths per minute, very high--14 to 16 is normal and 30 is considered high.

Dad's symptoms are those of renal failure--everything I read on the internet about it said it's considered a gentle death.

Elaine apparently talked to Dad on Friday about not fighting against dying--said that there were many here who love him but many on the other side who do too. (John told me Elaine's said this often to Dad--not just on Friday.)

Since Friday, there's been a family member with Dad at least most of the time. Tonight the siblings in Utah gathered for John to give Dad a blessing. He blessed him with peace and comfort and sealed him up to go be with his wife and siblings on the other side.

When John and I talked tonight after the blessing, John reported that Dad has a fever, that his mouth was open and slack, that he has a deep cough, and that he was pretty unresponsive but startled when my brother-in-law Dave put his mouth close to Dad's ear to speak to him.

I asked John to put the phone by Dad's ear, so I could tell him goodbye. I told him that I loved him and would miss him and that I knew it was time for him to go be with Mom, and I said goodbye to him.

John reported that Dad opened his eyes a little wider when I was talking to him--a response of some kind to my voice or even possibly to what I was saying.

The siblings told Dad that Mom was waiting for him, and Elaine reminded him that when Mom was dying he told her, "When it's my turn, I'll come running!"

Barbara expressed my feelings best when she said, "I'm sad and glad." I'm miss my wonderful dad, but I'm glad he's being released from his life here. I know he'll be much happier to be with Mom.

I'll post again as soon as I get more word from my family in Utah.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Update on Dad 2-5-12

I'm so sorry to be a week behind schedule, everyone! I know you may be worried that something has happened to Dad, but he's still much the same as he has been.

Something has happened to me, however. I was just called as the Relief Society President in my ward (president of the women's organization in our church congregation), so I've been very busy and keep thinking things will settle down, but they haven't so far.

I wasn't able to reach Dad when I tried to phone tonight - my phone was acting up and kept cutting me off, so I have a very short report from my friend Barbara, Dad's hospice nurse, a short report from my sister Martha, and a fun story about Dad and Mitt Romney - when he was a student at BYU.

When Barbara visited Dad recently, she asked him if he was experiencing any pain. He told her no. She said, "So your only pain is me," and Dad laughed. Barbara was impressed! She said she hadn't indicated in her voice that she was joking, so she felt it was clear that Dad was aware of what she was saying.

Martha told me she's seen Dad three times quite close together recently and that all of the visits were better than they've been.

For her visit last Sunday - with her husband, I think - she said he was slower to wake up than he usually is, but he gave them a big smile and was glad to see them. He chuckled and smiled at their stories about their grandson Luke who'd been staying with them.

His throat was dry and he wanted a drink, but the water in his room wasn't thickened, and when she checked about that, she was told that they don't thicken the water in the room. Martha will ask the head nurse about that since he chokes on plain water.

After trying to get him something to drink, Dad was dozing off, and when Martha suggested they leave, Dad said yes.

It does sounds like Dad is staying at about the same level. I asked Martha about how much Dad's eating and whether he's losing weight, but she hasn't heard.

As for the Mitt Romney story, I received a call a week or two ago from a reporter at the Washington Post - not an everyday occurrence! He was trying to verify a story he'd been told by Dad's friend Elouise Bell. The story goes that Mitt was an English major at BYU when Dad was department chair. Mitt came to Dad asking advice on what he should do after graduation. Apparently Dad said, "Mitt, with all you've got going for you, you should get an MBA. You can read books any time!" (Elouise, please post any needed corrections.)

I was sorry to tell the reporter that I couldn't verify the story and that I didn't think Dad would be able to either - he doesn't even remember his wonderful Navy stories that we used to have him tell over and over again. The reporter naturally didn't want to give up on such a great story, so I suggested he call my sister Martha in Springville to see if she could check the story out with Dad. I forgot to ask Martha if he'd called her, but I told the reporter that Elouise was a reliable source and a colleague and friend of Dad's, so if she'd told him the story, I believed it. I don't know if it will ever find its way into print, but it's a fun story!

That's all for tonight. I'll plan to write another post next week and stay on schedule better.

Thanks for reading!