Robert Duane Petersen

Robert Duane Petersen passed away on Sunday, May 29, 2016, in Bountiful, Utah, at the age of 86.  He was born on August 19, 1929, in Mt. Pleasant, Utah, the second of three children born to Axel Walter Petersen and Eva Luella Truscott.  

Robert's parents owned one of the first dry cleaning plants in central Utah before they lost the business during the Great Depression.
He then moved with them to Idaho and Wyoming as they pursued their dry cleaning profession. When Robert was in the 9th grade, the family settled in Richfield, Utah, and he quickly made many life-long friends.  While attending Richfield High School, he excelled in athletics, playing on the basketball team, running track and also serving as Student Body President.  He attended the Branch Agricultural College (now Southern Utah University) on a basketball and track scholarship.  There he met Joye Webster from Cedar City who was studying education.  They served together in student body leadership during their freshman year with Robert serving as President and Joye as Secretary.  Their courtship extended through an additional year at BAC and two years at Utah State University, where Robert attended on basketball and track scholarships.  They both graduated from USU in 1951.  Robert joined the United States Air Force on July 31, 1951, and started a 25-year career in the service of his country.  Robert and Joye married on December 26, 1951, while he was home on Christmas leave from the Air Force.  They were sealed in the St. George Temple on June 9, 1953.  

Robert began his career in the Air Force at the height of the Korean War.  He quickly developed ability and skill as an intelligence analyst, and was promoted to Second Lieutenant in December 1953.  He became an expert in Asian affairs, and served in Japan and California before being assigned to the National Security Agency (NSA) near Washington, DC.  Other assignments with the NSA included being stationed in Taiwan and again in Washington, DC.  Robert graduated from the Air Force Command and Staff College in Alabama in 1967, and then was assigned to the Military Advisory Command Vietnam in Saigon.  His responsibilities in the Air Force grew, and he fulfilled intelligence leadership roles at the North American Air Defense Command in Colorado; Headquarters, Allied Forces Northern Europe in Oslo, Norway; and a Tactical Fighter Air Wing in Louisiana.  Robert retired from the Air Force in June, 1976, as a Lieutenant Colonel, having been deeply involved in important activities critical to the defense of the United States during the Cold War.  Robert then worked in leadership roles in the Utah Department of Social Services for fifteen years, retiring in 1991.

Robert enjoyed athletics during his working career, playing basketball on several Air Force teams and tennis.  He was an avid fisherman and hunter, and enjoyed the outdoors wherever he lived.  
    
He was also a faithful active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Robert served in three bishoprics and in leadership roles in the Young Men, Sunday School, and in High Priest groups, in addition to being a dedicated home teacher. He and his wife also served as ordinance workers in both the Salt Lake and Bountiful temples, and as Church Service Missionaries for 23 years – six years in the Member Locator Center of the Church Membership Department and 17 years as hosts in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  

Robert and Joye reared their two children, Robert D. Petersen Jr. and Lauri Petersen, in a faithful home, instilling in them the virtues of hard work, dedication, faith, and service.  Robert is survived by his children, sister Janet Lee Parker, and four grandchildren, and was preceded in death by his wife, parents, and sister Peggy Rae Petersen.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, June 4, 2016, at Mueller Park Eighth Ward, 1320 East 1975 South, Bountiful, Utah.  Friends and family may visit Friday, June 3, between 6 and 8 p.m., at Russon Brothers Mortuary, 295 North Main St., Bountiful, Utah, or Saturday between 9:45 and 10:45 a.m. at the church.  Interment will be with military honors in the Bountiful City Cemetery.