John Thomas Crus

Our wonderful and devoted father, John Thomas Crus, passed away peacefully on Thursday, September 4, 2025. In true dad style, he waited until his three girls said goodbye that day before passing on. He and his doctors fought hard to kick cancer’s ass for over ten years, but unfortunately it was a fight he could not win.

We feel extremely blessed to have been able to celebrate dad’s 80th birthday in March with all his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

He was born March 21, 1945 to Thomas Crus and Elsie Rena Gini Crus in Salt Lake City. He was the most caring and amazing father, and a loving and devoted husband to our mother, Bonnie Ellen Crus, who preceded him in death on May 3, 2003. They were married on September 1, 1964, and after many years apart, they have finally been reunited.

He was the best son, husband, dad, grandpa, great-grandpa, brother-in-law, uncle, and friend anyone could ever ask for. He had a rough and gruff exterior, but on the inside he had a heart of gold. He always said his greatest accomplishments in life were marrying his high school sweetheart and love of his life, Bonnie, and together, raising their 3 wonderful and beautiful daughters.

Dad considered his parents the very best in the entire world. They backed him in all his endeavors, both good and bad. His dad started him in the construction business at the age of 7, stripping and cleaning forms, and cleaning up houses after school and on summer breaks. This was big money to him… 25 cents an hour! He went on to work alongside his dad for many years, eventually taking over their business, Crus Brothers Construction. Being in the construction business with his dad taught him many things. His dad always said what he thought of his decisions, then told him to make his own decisions, and that way he would have no one to blame but himself. He went on to become very successful, developing subdivisions from the ground up, building thousands of homes, custom homes for many close friends, and some commercial projects.

He had an amazing talent for building cars and motorcycles, and his favorite pastime was watching the NHRA “drags”. If you ever received a nickname from “Big Dog Crus”, just know that you were one of the lucky ones.

He is survived by his three daughters, Joni (Casey) Cox, Lori (Moe) Elshazly, and Alicia (Marty) Romney; nine grandchildren, Cody Cox, Jocelyn (Cole) Finan, Zachary Cox & Madison Metcalf, Madysen (Curtis) Harris, Samantha (Zach) Matthews, Brandon Northrup & Stephanie Clark, Savannah (Jaxson) Carr, Victoria Romney & Brett Porthan, Martin GM Romney, and Sophia Elshazly; six great-grandchildren, plus one on the way, Layla, Emery, Jack, Scarlett, Nolan, Sage, and baby Kate; two sisters-in-law, Susan Shreeve and Laurie (Rick) Weeks; one niece, Lisa (Brady) Walker; four nephews, Chris & Matt Terry, and Nick & Alex Weeks. Also survived by his best friend of over 35 years, Ed Jensen, who he always thought of as the little brother he never had, and by Donnie McNeill, his former friend and partner, who will always cherish their time together.

He felt it was so important to express sincere thanks to his team of doctors who helped him fight for so long, Dr. Agarwal, Dr. Gilcrease, Dr. Bigelow, and their entire staff. We would also like to thank all the nurses and aides that helped us in his final weeks.

A visitation will be held at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 3015 Creek Rd, Cottonwood Heights, UT, on Thursday, September 11th from 6-8 PM, where friends may call. A funeral Mass to be celebrated the following day, Friday, September 12th at 11 AM at the same location. Graveside services will be held following Mass for immediate family. He will be buried next to his beloved wife, Bonnie, at Mt. Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Salt Lake City. 

In lieu of flowers, dad requested donations be made to the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah.