Finally being elected to public office, though, gave his father pause, Tony Rampton said. The morning after the election, Cal Rampton "seemed very subdued and pensive. When I asked what was wrong, he said, 'I'm scared."'

But not for long. Rampton "took to the job like his golf ball to water," Tony Rampton joked, finally deciding not to seek a fourth term, so he could spend more time with his family and his beloved wife, Lucybeth Rampton. She passed away in 2004.

Vince Rampton said that after leaving office, his father focused on helping Lucybeth deal with her worsening clinical depression. "He could coax her from sorrow," he said of his father. Cal Rampton prayed daily, Vince Rampton said, something most people never knew.

The former governor, who was buried at the Salt Lake City Cemetery after the services, died peacefully at age 93, surrounded by family. He had been in hospice care since July after being diagnosed with cancer, and he suffered a stroke on Aug. 8.

---

E-mail: lisa@desnews.com