Clawson Wade Ruth

Clawson Wade “Tuffy” Ruth, 84, of Mesquite, Nevada, passed away Wednesday, October 11, 2023. He was born May 14, 1939, in St. George, Utah to Arch Sevier and Verda Blake Ruth. Tuffy grew up in Arizona, California, Utah, and Wyoming. He attended school in St. George, completing 6^th grade and part of 7^th. He left school to work on a cattle ranch near Big Piney, Wyoming making $3.00 a day plus room and board. His father had taught him how to do many things, especially how to be observant and not to be afraid to try something new. A saying of his father, Arch, that Tuffy quoted often was, “Cain’t never did anything!”

Tuffy married Orpha Woods on February 24, 1961. They were later sealed together for eternity in the St. George Temple. They became the parents of seven children. Tuffy worked all sorts of jobs to support and care for his family but only a few are touched on here. He worked at the Lime Mine at Apex, NV; the Virgin River Gorge, in a few different capacities, notably he was employed as a high scaler foreman. He worked intermittently for decades at the Nevada Test Site, where he worked as miner and mechanic. He left for a time to work as a rig mechanic on the Glomar Explorer and then as a rig mechanic on a semi-submersible deep-sea platform off the coast of France. Returning to the Test Site he worked again as a mechanic, then walking boss, and finished his career there as a walking boss on the Yucca Mountain Project.

Tuffy was always busy in his off-work time. He welded and did mechanic work and was constantly learning a new skill or enjoying a new hobby. He enjoyed making and gifting things to the people around him.

Tuffy is survived by his wife of 62 years, his sons: Greg Ruth (Aleta) and Clawson Ruth (Alejandra); daughters: Lorena (Charles) Hafen, Ellen (Lee) Pearson, Orpha (Jack) Zerkle, Barbarann (Keah) Gussie, and Grayce Ruth; 46 grandchildren, and 62 great-grandchildren. His remaining siblings are Narvin Dale “Tyke” Ruth, Verona Rogers, Roberta Norling, and Edwin Sevier Ruth. He is pre-deceased by his parents, Arch and Verda; his brothers Emral, Walt, Goodrich, and Lee; and sisters Marie Ruth and Grayce Hardy, and great-grandsons: Woodrow Bundy, and James and Jordan Lamb.

Services will be held at the Mesquite Stake Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints located at 100 N. Arrowhead Ln, Mesquite, NV on Saturday, October 21, 2023. Visitation begins at 9:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. The funeral service begins at 11:00 a.m. with burial afterwards at the old Mesquite City Cemetery on Hillside Drive. Family and friends can sign an online memorial guestbook at www.starmortuary.com