Robert LeGrande Stott

Beloved husband, father, and grandfather, Robert “Bob” LeGrande Stott, passed away late Saturday afternoon in his home, March 5^th, surrounded by his loving family.  He was born in Lompoc, California on July 2, 1944, to Norman and Beth Stott.  Raised in Pleasant Grove, Utah, Bob often spoke fondly of his childhood memories and of his tight knit graduating class of ‘62, whom he kept in contact with throughout his life.

After graduating from Pleasant Grove High School, Robert served an LDS mission in Texas. While on his mission, his mother passed away. It will be a sweet reunion for them both as he loved her dearly.

Robert graduated from Brigham Young University and has been the Cougar board’s greatest fan ever since. Robert attended many BYU football games over the years, where he was notorious for his bleacher side coaching, despite the fact he sat about a mile away from the field. No criminal in the courtroom ever got it worse than Levell Edwards. After the Y, Bob donned red while pursuing a law degree at the University of Utah Law School, which prepared him well for an illustrious career.

While in law school, Robert met and married the love of his life, Deanie Russell, in the Salt Lake Temple on August 25, 1971, and together they raised six children- Jenna, Lynley, Jaclyn, Casey, Carrie, and Jeffrey in Farmington, Utah. He is a proud grandfather of 24 grandchildren.

Bob served in many different positions in the LDS church throughout his life, but his favorite was as Sunday School teacher, while his most legendary was as nursery leader. He loved history and would spend hours researching gospel topics (on a yellow legal pad) to bring insightful commentary to every lesson. After retirement, Bob especially enjoyed working on legal aspects of the Joseph Smith Papers Project.

Bob was generous of heart, finding ways to give of his time and his talents. He read for the blind, helped people with their tax forms, visited and brought homemade treats to elderly widows, enjoyed taking a blind friend to the opera, and for years volunteered weekly at a local food pantry.

For 40 years Robert prosecuted some of the most difficult and high-profile cases in Salt Lake County, working almost solely on murder and capital punishment trials. Some of the more notorious criminals he prosecuted included Ted Bundy, Arthur Gary Bishop, Ervil LeBaron, Joseph Paul Franklin, Ronnie Lee Gardner, Mark Hofmann, Mark Hacking, and many others. In his years before retirement, his focus became one of passing the torch as he pulled from decades of experience to mentor young lawyers. Robert was respected for his civility, humility, and even temperament, by all he worked with.

Sim Gill, District Attorney, described Bob as more than just a colleague, “I learned from him that the good to which we aspire as prosecutors is not separate from the good, we pursue in our daily lives. He stressed the authentic commitment to principle–not as blind subservience but rather the pursuit of the good, which, once reconciled, is pursued with full vigor.”

The most admirable aspect of Dad’s career was how well he balanced work with family life. To us kids, Dad was just your average, regular guy.  No job around the house or yard was out of his jurisdiction, with one glaring exception:  he was no Tim the Toolman. Dad grocery shopped, did the dishes, and developed a surprising talent for pie making and homemade ice cream.  It wasn’t an uncommon sight to find Dad sitting at the kitchen table clipping the latest blue-ribbon recipe from the newspaper.  He spent time doing things with us like coaching t-ball and playing many competitive kickball, badminton, and croquet games in the backyard.

Dad- we express our deep admiration and gratitude for the manner and example in which you chose to conduct your life in both career and at home. We love you always and will do our best to carry on your legacy.

Til’ we meet again, there will always be, “Things to do, people to see, places to go.”

Viewing services will be held at Russon Brothers Mortuary in Farmington on Friday, March 11th from 6-8pm.  Funeral services will be held Saturday March 12th at 11am with a viewing from 9:45-10:45 am at the Farmington Steed Creek chapel 347 S. 200 W. Farmington, UT.

For those wishing to attend virtually you may join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device:  Please click this URL to join. https://zoom.us/j/98412805720
Description: Bob Stott Funeral