Patricia Ann Rawson Draper

Patricia (Pat) Ann Rawson Draper, age 91, of Bountiful, Utah, passed away peacefully on September 26, 2025 at Legacy House in Farmington, Utah. Born in Brigham City, Utah, on August 6, 1934, to Milton Lefgren Rawson and Opal Jensen (later divorced). Pat grew up in Brigham City and was raised by her mother’s parents during WWII while her mother worked as secretary to the base commander at Hill Field. When Pat entered high school, she moved to Salt Lake City to live with her mother and stepfather Richard O’Rourke.

Pat married her husband Theron (Rusty) Draper on December 16th, 1955 in the Salt Lake temple. Together she and Rusty raised five sons—Doug, Rick, Kip, Tim, and Tad. She also sponsored two missionary companions of her sons to come to the United States and attend BYU– Phil Perry (England) and Cesar Peruzzo (Brazil). She happily welcomed them into her home and they became family. Rusty preceded her in death due to a car accident in 1984.

Professionally, Pat worked as a nurse in many hospital settings but her favorite was caring for newborns. She served as a private nurse for President David O. McKay, which she considered a privilege and faith promoting highlight. As she gravitated to where she could do the most good, most of her career involved taking care of children facing psychological and economic hardships in the Head Start Program.

Pat was known for her kindness and conscientious service in her many ward and stake callings. While still a young mother, she served as a tour guide at the Beehive House. She served many years as a host at the Conference Center and served two family history missions. She traveled extensively and visited all of the continents except Antarctica. Many of her travels involved humanitarian efforts and meant going to places such as China, Egypt, and Russia when and where ordinary tourists would not.

Pat developed a fondness for fine music, dance, marching bands, and all things cultured. She exhibited a lifelong passion for reading and being with and serving people. She valued visual arts like painting and porcelain sculpture and especially enjoyed attending the symphony and ballet. In her day to day life, you would often catch her listening to show tunes to keep things upbeat. She cherished visiting with dear friends and playing cards and parlor games. In her downtime, her calling was genealogy and family history. As the matriarch, family was everything to her.

She was preceded in death by her parents, husband Rusty, and son Kip. She is survived by brother Mike (Kathy) Rawson, sons Doug (Lora), Rick (Laurel), daughter-in-law Cindy, Tim (Diana), Tad (Melaney), honorary sons Phil (Linnie) Perry and Cesar Peruzzo (Robert), 22 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren.

With Pat’s warm and caring personality, she touched many lives. She often expressed gratitude for all of her friends, her compassionate service sisters, and to the assisted living and hospice staff who provided such loving care. She truly felt blessed by the warmth of so many, especially in this last chapter of her life.

Viewing will be held Monday, October 6, 2025, from 6–8 p.m. at the Russon Mortuary at 295 North Main, Bountiful, Utah. Funeral services will be conducted at the Stone Creek Ward, 1476 N 300 W, Bountiful, Utah, on Tuesday, October 7 at 10:30 a.m., with a viewing immediately preceding the service from 9:15–10:15 a.m. Interment at the Centerville City Cemetery will follow the funeral.

Services will be streamed live on the Russon Mortuary Live Facebook page and on this obituary page. The live-stream will begin about 10-15 minutes prior to the service and will be posted below.