- Date Of Birth: December 25, 1918
- Date Of Death: February 7, 2011
- State: Idaho
Rosemary Elizabeth Cook (Ruby) Lawton
Rosemary passed away February 7, 2011 at Magic Valley Manor in Wendell., Idaho.
Rosemary was born December 25, 1918 in Moline, Kansas to George E. and N. Pearl Cook. In March of 1920 they came by train to Idaho and settled in the Buhl area. She attended school in Buhl thru the 7th grade. The family moved to Wendell in 1931 and she completed the 8th grade and high school there.
Rosemary attended Albion State Normal School for two years and became a teacher. Her first job was in Hill City, Idaho at a small country school, with only six grades, no seventh or eighth. She taught at Hill City for one year. That year Rosemary met William J. Ruby and they were married June 11, 1939. They were blessed with one son, Larry in August 1940. Work was hard to get so they moved to Oregon, then Bill became ill and they moved back to Idaho. She obtained a teaching position in the West Point School near Wendell. Husband Bill died in 1942 from Bright’s disease, so with deep sorrow and a small son, she took a teaching position in Wendell Schools from 1943 thru 1946.
Rosemary married Everett Lawton on June 15, 1945. They farmed south of Wendell, but being a farm wife and teaching was difficult, so for the next twelve years she was a farm wife. They were blessed with two children, a son, Warren and a daughter, Janet.
She went back to teaching in Wendell in 1958 and continued until 1982 when she retired. A comment she made about teaching was, “First Graders are wonderful little people and it is almost a miracle to be able to take them at the first of the year, not being able to read and by the end of the year they are reading quite fluently”.
Everett passed away in 1982; she sold the farm to her son, Warren, but continued to live there until 1993 when she moved to town. Rosemary truly loved her home in Town
She loved traveling with friends and family, and was always looking for a good book to read. Rosemary loved bowling and it was very hard to give it up at the age of 80. She was an avid crossword puzzle worker and could solve Wheel of Fortune puzzles before many letters were revealed. Always a teacher, we kids and grandkids were always corrected on speech and sounds of words. No baby talk was allowed; we had to learn the correct sounds!
Rosemary was preceded in death by her parents; husbands, Bill and Everett; brother, George; sister, Dorothea; brother-in-law, Joe; and son, Larry.
She is survived by son, Warren (Charlotte), Lawton of Wendell; and daughter, Janet (Bud) Tomlinson of Arizona; daughter-in-law, Wanda Ruby of Oklahoma; six grandchildren, Kerry, Penny, Kendi, Laura, Sue, and Becky; 15 great grandchildren and 2 great-great grandchildren.
