Cracroft, Richard H., 1936-2012

Richard Holton Cracoft (b. 1936) was a Mormon missionary, professor, university administrator, and ecclesiastical leader in Utah.

Richard Holton Cracoft (born 1936) was a Mormon missionary, professor, university administrator, and ecclesiastical leader in Utah.

Richard Holton Cracroft was born June 28, 1936, in Salt Lake City, Utah. He attended high school in Utah and served as the Senior Class President. After graduating high school, he attended the University of Utah, after which he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the Swiss-Austria Mission. Soon after his mission release, he married Janice Marie Alger in the Salt Lake Temple on September 17, 1959. He then continued his education at the University of Utah, receiving his BA in August 1961, and his MA in August 1963.

From 1963 to 1966, Cracroft was an Instructor of English at Brigham Young University (BYU). He then went on to the University of Wisconsin, Madison, to work on his PhD, which he completed in October 1969. He returned to Brigham Young University to be a Professor of English from 1969 to 2001. He retired on July 1, 2001.

During his time at BYU, Cracroft served as Chair of the Department of English, Dean of the College of Humanities, Director of the American Studies Program, and Director of the Center for the Study of Christian Values in Literature. He has also served in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a bishop, stake president, mission president, and branch president of the Missionary Training Center.