Robert M Petersen

Robert M Petersen was born on March 9, 1924 in Salt Lake City, Utah and passed away January 21, 2016 at the age of 91.  Robert was the youngest son of Anselitus and Olive Charlottie Butler Petersen.  He had two sisters, Marie and Ione, and a brother who was stillborn.  When Robert was about one year old, his family moved to Castle Gate, Utah where his father worked as a coal miner.  For the first several years in Castle Gate they lived in a house with no running water.  They had to use an outhouse about fifty feet out the back door.  For bathing, they heated water in a galvanized tub on a coal stove.  Because he was raised under difficult economic circumstances, Robert learned the value of hard work and of saving money at a young age.  His first job was filling the coal bins during the summer.  They didn’t have enough money to buy coal in the winter, so Robert said that he sometimes would hop on one of the coal trains going up Price Canyon and throw chunks of coal off and then load them on a wagon and take them home.  At the time he didn’t think there was anything wrong with taking the coal because it was the only way to keep warm in the winter. 

As a kid Robert loved his bulldog, Pickles.  Pickles did everything with him including swimming in the Price River, hiking in the cliffs around Castle Gate, and sleeping next to him.  His mother would send him to the meat shop about once a week to get bones for his dog. He was instructed to ask for the bones off the floor, ones that did not have sawdust on them.  However, instead of giving them to the dog his mother would use them to make soup for dinner.   Pickles died shortly after Robert went into the military.  The vet told Robert’s dad that Pickles died of a broken heart.

When Robert was 13, his family moved to Salt Lake City.  He attended Roosevelt Jr. High.   He struggled to make average grades, but he excelled in P.E.  That year he had what he referred to as a life changing experience.  He asked his dad for a dollar so that he could go downtown to a show.  His dad handed him a dollar and then asked him if Robert thought money grew on trees.  Robert was embarrassed and upset and told his dad that he would never ask for money again.  He kept that promise. 

He made up his mind that he would find a job.  He pestered the manager of a nearby Safeway store for weeks until the manager finally gave in and told him to come in on Saturday.  His first job in the grocery business was delivering groceries to homes in the neighborhood. He worked 4 hours and was paid 50 cents.  He was soon promoted to a position in the produce department.  He was paid $1.50 for his first full day’s work.  He spent 50 cents and saved a dollar.  As time went on, the store manager had him come in to work every day after school and all day Saturday.  He was paid about $7.50 per week.  He saved about $5.00 of the 7.50.  By the time he graduated from High School he had saved $300 and had also paid for his mother’s false teeth.  He really enjoyed his time at work, but missed out on a lot extracurricular activities during Jr High and High School.  Learning the importance of working hard and saving money as a young man benefitted Robert and his family throughout his life.  He often counseled his kids and grandkids regarding the importance of hard work and saving money.    

While working for Safeway, he attended a store party at Lagoon.  During that party one of Robert’s relatives introduced him to Ione Smith.  Ione was working at a coffee stand wrapping sugar cubes.  Robert helped her wrap some of the cubes and finally mustered enough courage to ask if he could take her home.  He and a cousin took Ione to her nearby home in Farmington.  There was a full moon that night and when he parked near her home he told Ione to look at the moon. When she turned her head to look at the moon he gave her a kiss.  He said “she didn’t slap me, so I guess it was okay.”  After Robert dropped her off, he was on cloud 9.  He went home and told his mother that he had found the girl he was going to marry.  Ione was the only girl Robert ever dated.  They spent time going to Lagoon, dancing and going to Blackrock at the Great Salt Lake and to Saltair.  When he was not working he was with Ione. 

Robert went to High school at East High in Salt Lake City.  Although he worked after school, he did find time to participate in track and field.  He earned a varsity letter running the 440 yard dash. 

The bombing of Pearl Harbor changed Robert’s life.  Robert and a friend decided to join the Navy.  On December 10, 1942 he was sworn into the Navy at the age of 18.  However, he did not leave until June of 1943 at the age of 19.  During the time between High School graduation and leaving for military service, Robert continued to work at the Safeway store at North Temple and 7th west in Salt Lake.  He was made an assistant manager, one of the youngest at the time.  That was typical throughout his life.  His dedication, honesty, and hard work lead to success. 

Prior to leaving for San Diego and military service, the Bishop of Robert’s ward asked if wanted to receive the Melchizedek Priesthood.  Not being very active in the church, Robert responded that he didn’t care.  He said he really didn’t know if he had a testimony.  The Bishop sent him to the stake president for an interview and they ordained him an elder.  It wasn’t until much later that he appreciated how important that event was.  

He left for boot camp in San Diego in June of 1943.  He married the only girl he ever dated, Ione Smith, on October 24, 1943 while he was on leave in San Diego.  They spent most of the next 2 and a ½ years apart. 

Robert was trained as a naval aviation radioman and was assigned to the USS Natoma Bay, a small aircraft carrier in the Pacific Theater.  He flew 61 combat missions as a radioman and gunner on a Torpedo Bomber.  He participated in many of the major battles in the Pacific including Leyte Gulf and Iwo Jima.  He flew air cover for general McArthur’s return to the Philippines.  One experience Robert remembered vividly, occurred one morning during the battle of Iwo Jima.  His squadron was returning from a bombing and strafing mission when the pilot told them to look out the window.  In the rising sun, he saw the American flag flying on Mount Suribachi.  He said it was the most beautiful site he had ever seen.  Throughout his life, he always became emotional when he saw the flag.

Robert’s military service had a tremendous impact on all aspects of his life.  He developed a love for our country that would never diminish.  He also grew spiritually.  During the Battle of Leyte Gulf, his squadron was experiencing heavy anti-aircraft fire while bombing a Japanese cruiser.  He remembers promising Heavenly Father that he would do whatever He wanted him to do if they got out of the bombing run alive.  He remembers making that promise several times during his military service.  He kept that promise.   It was during the war that his testimony of the gospel began to grow.

For his service Robert received the Distinguished Flying Cross, 3 Air Medals, and several battle ribbons with stars.

Robert and Ione’s first son Robert Jr (Bobby) was born while Robert was serving overseas in the military.  Bobby was born with Down’s syndrome, a condition that would be a challenge and a blessing throughout their lives.

Upon returning from the war, Robert resumed his career in the grocery business.  He managed several Safeway stores in Salt Lake and Bountiful and also worked for Associated Foods.  He and 2 partners opened a meat store called “The Meat Shop” in Bountiful. They soon opened another store in Bountiful, but Robert found that it was difficult to support his growing family with the two stores. He was getting burned out working 12 hours a day six or seven days a week.  So Robert began looking for another job.  He knew the Superintendent of Pipelines for Conoco in North Salt Lake and asked him for a job.  He was hired to temporarily replace another employee who was away on a construction project.  During that time, he worked his normal shift and then would study about the company and answer questions from the engineering training manual for another 8 hours.  When his job was about to end, he convinced his supervisor to let him interview with the review board that did the permanent hiring.  They were impressed with the extra work he had done, telling him that it took the engineering graduates a year to learn what he had done on his own.  Conoco offered Robert a job, but required that he move his family to either Lincoln, Nebraska or Ponca City, Oklahoma.  By that time Robert and Ione had 5 Children, 4 sons and a daughter.  They chose to move to Ponca City where Robert worked in the pipeline control group.  While in Ponca City, Robert played on the company fast pitch softball team.  He was a pitcher and outfielder. He inherited his baseball talent from his father who at one point went to San Diego to play professional baseball.  He also began playing tennis, a sport he would play well into his 80’s and would pass on to his sons Rick and Mark. 

After a few years in Ponca City, Robert and Ione moved to Purcell, Oklahoma where they lived for a couple of years.  Robert was then asked to be the Conoco Pipeline District Superintendent in Billings, Montana.  They spent the next 18 years in Billings.  Robert was respected by all who worked with him.  However, he often battled engineers during his career.  He generally knew more about pipeline engineering than the engineers did.  The smart ones would figure that out and ask for his help.  The ones who didn’t figure that out, didn’t do too well.  It is ironic that 3 of his sons became engineers.  He was secretly proud, but that didn’t keep him from giving them a hard time.

Robert loved spending time in the outdoors.  While living in Montana, he often took his family camping in the beautiful mountains around Billings and he frequently took his sons hunting and fishing.  

Throughout their married life Robert and Ione served faithfully in the LDS Church.  Shortly after moving to Billings, Robert and Ione were sealed in the Idaho Falls temple.  Robert humbly served in many callings including Bishop of the Billings 5th ward and as a member of the High Counsel. Robert was known for his humility and kindness as he served.  He wasn’t flashy.  He taught most of his lessons through his example.  He never asked someone to do something he wasn’t willing to do himself.  

Robert retired from Conoco in 1988, and soon thereafter he and Ione moved to Kaysville, Utah to be closer to family.  He and Ione loved serving in both the Ogden and Bountiful LDS temples.  They also enjoyed traveling and spending time with children and grandchildren.  Robert worked for 15 years as manager of the Haight’s Creek Irrigation Company in Kaysville.  He left the company in much better condition than he found it. 

For 61 years he and Ione were dedicated to caring for their handicapped son, Bobby.  Much of their life, especially Ione’s, revolved around Bobby’s schedule and caring for his needs.  In spite of the demands of work and caring for a handicapped son, Robert spent time with his other children.  Due to an illness, the last few years of Bobby’s life were spent in a care center. Robert and Ione visited him for couple of hours every day making sure his needs were met.  During that time Robert grew very close to Bobby. 

December 10, 2004 Robert lost Ione as a result of a tragic accident.  He was devastated.  A couple of months later Bobby passed away.  Those two losses left a void in Robert’s life that would never be filled.

Robert always treated Ione like a queen.  The way he lovingly cared for her was one of the great sermons of his life.

In September 2015 Robert and his daughter Carole had the opportunity to participate in an Honor Flight to Washington DC to visit the WWII Memorial.  It was a wonderful experience for both of them.  Robert always felt it was an honor for him to serve his country.  It was nice that his country could honor him for his service.

The best description of Robert’s character is threefold, he was a good husband, a good father, and a good man.  He will be missed by the family he leaves behind and the many people whose lives he influenced.   Upon being told that Great Grandpa had passed away, a young great grandson declared, “He’s Great because he raised my Grandpa so good.”

He was preceded in death by his wife (Ione), his son (Robert), and 3 siblings.  He is survived by 3 sons, Gary (Kathleen), Rick (Vicki), and Mark (Erin) and his daughter Carole Harrison (Jim) and 18 grandchildren and 38 great grandchildren. 

Funeral services will be held at 11 AM Wednesday, January 27, 2016 at the Kaysville 11th ward building.  Family and friends may visit Tuesday between 6 and 8 PM at Russon Brothers Mortuary, 1941 N. Main, Farmington, UT and Between 9:45 and 10:45 Wednesday at the church. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City.