Reece B. Robertson

Reece B. Robertson 5/5/1920 ~ 1/29/2009 Reece B. Robertson passed away Jan. 29, 2009 in Salt Lake City, from causes incident to age. He was 88-years-old.

Reece was born in Lovell, WY to Bryant Robertson and Amelia Harris, the oldest of three children. In his mid-teens he joined a cavalry unit of the Wyoming National Guard, because "I'd do anything to get off the farm." With the advent of World War II he switched over to the Army Air Corps and learned to fly, eventually becoming a bomber pilot in the European theatre. On his 39th mission over Germany he was shot down and spent the final six months of the war in the POW camp Stalag Luft I.

After the war he enrolled at BYU, where he met his wife Clara Simmons. They were married in Dec. 1946 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple, and from this union was born their daughter Deborah Jo.

Reece earned a law degree from the Univ. of Utah and moved to Los Angeles, where he started a career as an attorney for the Immigration and Naturalization Service. He remained with the INS for over 30 years and retired as a senior immigration judge. He maintained his service in the Air Force Reserve and retired as a lieutenant colonel, serving in the JAG office.

Following Clara's death in 1982, Reece married Alice Virginia Bee in 1987 and the two of them moved to Utah in 1990, where he was able to pursue his love of gardening. Reece and Virginia held various church callings together, including Family History Library missionaries and temple workers. They had over 20 years together before Reece's ill health forced his relocation to an assisted living center.

Reece was preceded in death by his first wife Clara and his younger brother Mark. He is survived by his second wife Virginia, his sister Elda Huling of Phoenix, his daughter Debbie (Steve) Baldridge of Murray, and three grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Sat. Feb. 7, 2009 at the Brighton 7th Ward chapel at 2925 E. Bengal Blvd, Sandy, at 11:00 a.m., with a viewing commencing one hour before the service. Interment, with full military honors, will be at the Salt Lake Cemetery following the funeral. Cannon Mortuary funeral directors.

The family would like to thank the staffs of Sunrise at Holladay, Silverado and the VA Hospital for their loving care during the final six months of Reece's life.

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Published in Deseret News from Feb. 1 to Feb. 4, 2009.

Deseret News (UT) 1 Feb 2009, Reece B. Robertson Obituary, Legacy.com (https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/deseretnews/obituary.aspx?n=reece-b-robertson&pid=123543677 : accessed 13 April 2021)