Rodney Welch Crosby died at the New Horizons Care Center, Lovell, on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2008, from Parkinson’s Disease.


He was born to Jesse and Ivy Welch Crosby on July 20, 1917, at the family home in Cowley. Rodney attended schools in Cowley, Salt Lake City and Morgan, Utah, graduating from Cowley High School in 1935. He was a talented basketball player for Cowley as well as for the Big Horn Canners, and he played football for BYU. Rodney was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with a firm testimony of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.


Rodney married his childhood friend and sweetheart, Ethel Lewis, in 1940 and they later became eternal companions with their marriage solemnized in the Idaho Falls Temple. They settled on his acreage south of Cowley to farm and ranch where he diligently worked the land. He and Ethel served as dance instructors for the youth at the Cowley LDS Church and were proficient at ballroom dancing. He was a faithful home teacher and helped others in need. He was very proud of his pioneer heritage and taught his children the value of hard work.


Rodney served as executor, and he and Ethel served as co-trustees for the C. A. Lewis Trust for many years. They ran both their operation and the C. A. Lewis operation in Wyoming and Montana for many years. He served on the Lovell Hospital Board of Trustees, the Cowley Drainage District, Sidon Canal, REA, PCA and was active in organizations including the Wyoming Farm Bureau, Wyoming Livestock Association and the Wyoming Sheep Growers Association.


Rodney was a congenial gentleman who loved his family and friends. He was a warm and loving husband, father, grandfather and friend. He was kind and gracious to all and a wonderful example to his children and grandchildren. Although he will be sorely missed, family and friends rejoice at his passing to a new dimension of his life and his relief from suffering.


He is survived by brother Robert Dale Crosby (Maruca) of Florida and Chile and by his six children: Sherrill Louise Brow (Stan) of Alpine, Calif., Rodney L. Crosby (Josephine) of Cowley, Carolyn Titmus (Bob) of Las Vegas, Bobbie Arnson (Dave) of Provo, Carrie Crosby of Englewood, Colo., and Claudia Sloan (Joe) of Coto De Caza, Calif.; 17 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren and several nephews and nieces of whom he was very fond.


He was preceded in death by his parents; wife Ethel; grandsons Randy Wagner, David Brow and Brice Legerski; brother Jesse; sisters Jean and Betty; and two wives, Marjorie and Elese.
Funeral services will be held Friday, Sept. 5, 2008, at 2 p.m. at the Cowley LDS Church, with burial in the Cowley Cemetery. Visitation will be at the church one hour prior to the service. Haskell Funeral Home in Lovell is in charge of arrangements.