Ruth Nelson Reeve

Ruth Nelson Reeve was born on 13 July 1930 in Sandy, Utah, to Paul Ernest and Martha Eunice Ensign Nelson. She was the ninth of nine children and the fourth daughter. She grew up in Sandy, Woods Cross, and Chester, Utah, on the dairy farms that her family operated. Her formative years were shaped by her parents, her siblings, and the harsh realities of the Great Depression. Through a combination of those influences she learned dependability, hard work, frugality, punctuality, service, and an inclination to look out for those around her who might need a helping hand, a smile, a warm embrace or an extra dose of generosity, grace, and love - all of which were guiding principles in her life. Patience, however, was not her strong suit. She was persistently impatient. She told her grandkids that if God left her on earth long enough to learn patience, she was never getting out of here. After 95 years, she apparently learned enough patience to get out of here. She passed away peacefully in her sleep on 1 August 2025.

In 1952, Ruth graduated in Home Economics from Utah State University. She then worked as a County Home Agent for Emery County before accepting a call to serve in the Swiss-Austria mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where she learned to speak German. She served from 1953 to 1955. Her mission experience shaped her life thereafter and solidified her commitment to Jesus Christ. She lived a beautiful life filled with a desire to share the light and grace of Christ with those who she met along the way. Material possessions meant little to Ruth and were only the means to offer love and comfort to others, something she did in quiet ways throughout her mortal sojourn.

Once home from her mission, Ruth began a job as County Home Demonstration Agent for Washington County, a role she filled for three years (1955-1958). She regularly contributed a column to the Washington County News with such headlines as "A Bread Demonstration," "Home Equipment," "Summer Laundering," "Refinishing a Piano," "Sewing Machine Care," "4-H Club Work," and "Upholstery." Apparently, the conversation in that upholstery class turned from sofas and chairs to dating, as one member of the class insisted on setting her up with a new widower, Leo Reeve, whose wife had recently passed away. Ruth, however, was reluctant. Leo had three teenaged children (Stephen, (1942-2005); David, (1944-1966); and Roene, (1946-2007)) and she had already accepted a contract to work at the LDS Church College of New Zealand.

Ruth unenthusiastically agreed to two dates with Leo, both to football games, and then Leo asked her to marry him. Instead of giving Leo an answer, the two corresponded while Ruth went to New Zealand. After a year, Leo talked Ruth into returning to the states to marry him. He met Ruth in California on her return from New Zealand and they married on 12 September 1959, in the Los Angeles LDS Temple. After their honeymoon to Mexico, the two returned home to Hurricane where Ruth met Leo's children for the first time.

Ruth later recalled that lifechanging moment this way: "I just walked in and met the kids. I couldn't have asked for anything better. They were so good to me. They were my children. I never heard the word 'stepmother,'" she said. "Whenever we were out and I met new people, I was introduced as 'this is my mother.'" Ruth took such a welcome to heart and raised those three children as her own. Ruth developed an especially strong bond with Roene who she cared for until Roene's passing in 2007. Ruth and Leo had two sons together, James Nelson Reeve and Walter Paul Reeve.

Ruth's dedication to her church, community, and family can be seen in countless ways. Her church service included teaching Seminary, working in the Primary, Young Women, Sunday School, and two loving stints in the Relief Society, one as ward Relief Society President and one as Stake Relief Society President. She also served for thirty years in the German name extraction program, a role she relished as it helped her to keep current with her German language skills. She served her community as a member of the local Buenas Amigas women's club, and as PTA president for Hurricane High School. Ruth recalled working hard to help raise $2,000 for uniforms for the Hurricane High School band. She worked on the Library Committee for Washington County, was a Washington County school board committee member, and served as an election judge for 25 years "back when we counted ballots by hand," she recalled, with some pride.

In 1986, Ruth and Leo joined with Eldrow (Dutch) and Marjorie Reeve to establish the Harold Walter and Artemisia Jepson Reeve Scholarship. For over thirty years, Ruth administered the scholarship and annually awarded it to two graduating seniors (one male and one female) from Hurricane High School. In 2016, Leo and Ruth were inducted into the Hurricane High School Hall of Fame and two years later Ruth was appointed Grand Marshall of the Peach Days Parade. She lived a life of committed service to her community, her family, her friends, her neighbors, and to her God.

Ruth is preceded in death by her husband, Leo; his children: Stephen, David, and Roene; her parents: Paul Ernest Nelson and Eunice Ensign Nelson; her brothers and sisters: Paul E. Nelson, Woodrow E. Nelson, Rene E. Nelson, Rachel N. Nutter, Charlotte N. Richardson, Annette N. Brown, Ellwood E. Nelson; and great-granddaughter, Katie Jo Haggard. She is survived by her brother, J. Dewey Nelson; brother-in-law, Frank Brown; daughter-in-law, Kay Reeve Woodbury; sons and daughters-in-law: James N. and Suzanne McKinnon Reeve, Walter Paul and Beth Brumer Reeve; eighteen grandchildren, and ten great-grandchildren.

Ruth's sons would like to express their gratitude to the wonderful staff at Beehive Homes in Hurricane for the kind, loving, compassionate, and gentle care that they offered Ruth on a daily basis. Thank you!

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, August 9, 2025, at 1:00 p.m., with a viewing prior from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., at the Hurricane 9th Ward Chapel (Red Brick Church) located at 274 South 100 West in Hurricane, Utah. Interment will follow in the Hurricane City Cemetery.

Those unable to attend in person can live stream the services here: Livestream

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