Class of 1913. Archie Robbins. Graduated from Brigham Young High School in 1913. Name on list, but no photo. Source: 1913 BYU Banyan yearbook, BYH section, pages 63-81. ~ ~ ~ ~ Collegiate Grad of BYU, Class of 1928. Archie Robbins. He received a BS Degree in 1928. Source: Annual Record, B.Y. University, Book 6, page 383.

Class of 1960~Honorary. Burt Robbins. Married Lenore. @2010

Faculty & Staff. Instructor in Physical Education, 1942-43.

Collegiate Grad of BYU, Class of 1926. Bertha D. Roberts. She received an A.B. Degree in English in 1926. Source: Annual Record, B.Y. University, Book 9, page 450.

Class of 1919. Edith Roberts. She graduated from BYH in College Hall on Wednesday, May 28, 1919. Source: 1919 Graduation Program. ~ ~ ~ ~ Second source: (Edyth Roberts) 1919 BYU Banyan yearbook, BYH section, pages 61-74. ~ ~ ~ ~ Class of 1919. Edith Roberts. She received a BYH Business Diploma in 1919. Source: Annual Record, B.Y. University, Book 10, page 188.

Class of 1931. Frank Roberts. Graduated from Brigham Young High School on Thursday, May 28, 1931. Source: The Evening Herald, Provo, Utah, Tuesday, May 26, 1931.

Classes of 1915, 1917, and 1918. Geneve Roberts. She graduated from BYH in College Hall on Thursday, June 3, 1915, in the Academic Department, and in the Arts and Manual Training Department. At commencement she gave a reading of "As the Moon Rose". Source 1: Program, 1915 High School Class, Thursday, June 3, 1915, College Hall. Class Colors: Red & Blue. Class Motto: "Duty is the Keynote of Success". ~ ~ ~ ~ Class of 1915. Geneve Roberts. She received two diplomas in 1915: a BYH Art & Manual Training Diploma, and a High School Diploma. Source 2: Annual Record, B.Y. University, Book 7, page 213. ~ ~ ~ ~ Class of 1917. Geneve Roberts. She received a BYH Arts Supervision Diploma in 1917. Source: Annual Record, B.Y. University, Book 7, page 213. ~ ~ ~ ~ Class of 1918. Geneve Roberts. She received a High School Diploma, and a BYH Art & Manual Training Diploma in 1918. Source: Annual Record, B.Y. University, Book 7, page 213.

Class of 1917. Hattie Roberts. Graduated from Brigham Young High School in 1917. Source: 1917 BYU Banyan yearbook, BYH section, pages 82-88.

Class of 1917. Howard D. Roberts. He graduated from Brigham Young High School in 1917. Source: 1917 BYU Banyan yearbook, BYH section, pages 82-88. ~ ~ ~ ~ Collegiate Grad of BYU, Class of 1928. Howard D. Roberts. He received a BS Degree in Agronomy in 1928. Source: Annual Record, B.Y. University, Book 9, page 79.

Lillian Roberts. She is included on a list of 59 names of the earliest students of Brigham Young Academy, taken from a file in the BYU Archives, made by an unknown contemporary student. She married _____ DeLong.

BY Academy High School Class in 1876. Mary J. Roberts. One of the original 29 students who registered on the first day of classes at Brigham Young Academy, January 3, 1876. She is also included on a list of 59 names of the earliest students of Brigham Young Academy, taken from a file in the BYU Archives, made by an unknown contemporary student. ~ ~ ~ ~ Mary Jane (May) Roberts was born on October 18, 1861 in Provo, Utah. Her parents: Benjamin Morgan Roberts, Sr., and Mary Ann (Polly) Bullock. At the age of 21, Mary (May) married James Roger Farrer on October 30, 1882 in Provo, Utah. She died on January 26, 1930 in Provo, Utah, at the age of 68. Interment, Provo City Cemetery.

BY Academy High School Class of 1885. Mattie E. Roberts received a Teacher's Certificate. Source: 1. Deseret News, June 25, 1885. 2. Territorial Enquirer, June 12, 1885.

Classes of 1917 and 1920. Paul Roberts. Graduated from Brigham Young High School in 1917. Source: 1917 BYU Banyan yearbook, BYH section, pages 82-88. ~ ~ ~ ~ Class of 1920. L. Paul Roberts. He received a High School Diploma in 1920. Source: Annual Record, B.Y. University, Book 9, page 451.

Class of 1918. Phoebe H. Roberts. Academic Department. Graduated Monday Evening, May 27, 1918. Source: 1918 Graduation Program. Second source: 1918 BYU Banyan, High School section, pages 60-79. ~ ~ ~ ~ Phoebe Harriet Roberts, born December 13, 1896 in Goshen, Utah. She died September 5, 1955 in Stockton, California. Interment, Rural Mausoleum - Stockton, San Joaquin, California. Her parents: Nicholas Warmouth Roberts & Anna or Annie Mortensen. She married: Patrick Francis Kelly on December 26, 1919 (div).

Class of 1936. Roberta Roberts. Source: 1936 BYH Wildcat yearbook. HER OBITUARY: Roberta Faye Roberts Berrey, age 83, passed away October 17, 2002. Roberta was born Aug. 6, 1919 in Provo, Utah to Zella Lichfield and Frank E. Roberts. She was preceded in death by her parents, her older brother Harold and sister Beth Purdue. Roberta grew up in Provo and Salt Lake City. She attended high school at BYU High School. She spent two years at BYU, then transferred to Utah State University where she graduated with a Bachelors Degree. During this time, she met her husband David L. Berrey. They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on June 15, 1941. After graduation she taught grade school in Minersville, Utah while her husband served in World War II. During his service as a career Naval Officer and pilot, they had five children and were stationed in many places from Virginia to California. Upon his retirement, they moved to Salt Lake City where she played an active role in their business ventures including ranching and real estate and designed several of the buildings that they built and operated together. Her faithful membership in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, led her to serve in many callings during her lifetime. She was an active member of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers and was proud of her rich pioneer heritage. A wonderful teacher, she instilled in her family her love of learning and the importance of family. As the center of our family she was always a good mother. She loved her husband, David, dearly. Roberta is survived by her loving husband David, their children (Carol Berrey, Joan Rands, Holly Dedman, David J. Berrey, and Phoebe Berrey), her sister Carol Bunnell, 15 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Funeral services were held Monday, Oct. 21, 2002 at Federal Heights LDS Chapel in Salt Lake City, Utah. Interment, Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Her family suggests memorial donations to the Primary Children's Hospital [Deseret News, Saturday, October 19, 2002.]

Class of 1944. Alice Robertson. ~ ~ ~ ~ HER OBITUARY: Alice Marian Robertson Wilson, 1926 ~ 2013. Alice Marian Robertson Wilson, born August 20, 1926 in Morgan, Utah to Leroy J. and Naomi N. Robertson, passed away April 8, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Marian grew up in Provo, where she attended Brigham Young University through her elementary [Brigham Young Laboratory Elementary School], secondary [Brigham Young Junior High and Brigham Young High School - Class of 1944] and college years, graduating from BYU in 1948 Summa Cum Laude and as BYU valedictorian. She pursued her graduate work at the University of Utah, earning an M.A. (1952), and two Ph.D. degrees (1960 and 1970). Apart from being with her family, Marian loved most of all to learn, especially languages and music. As a musician she appeared in her first piano recital at age eight, had a minor career as a pianist, but became best known as a 'cellist, primarily as a member of the Utah Symphony (1947-1962) where she was the assistant solo cellist from 1952 on. As a teenager she played in concerts throughout the Intermountain West, giving performances during WWII for the troops at Dugway and performing weekly programs at KSL Radio and KUED-TV. As a linguist, she began speaking French at age nine and soon went on to learn many other languages. (Some people have counted thirty-two languages, but she only vouched for "upwards of sixteen.") As an undergraduate student in 1946, she began a 28-year teaching career, first at BYU teaching French, then at the U of U, and finally at USU, as an associate professor. During these years, in addition to French she taught German, Italian, Ancient Greek, and Advanced Music Theory. A winner of numerous fellowships, she did important research in France and Egypt, and later lectured at major universities across the USA and in Europe. In the late 1970s she ultimately combined her love of music and languages by working on the Coptic Encyclopedia project as translator, editor, and music editor. With articles published in nine countries, she gained international recognition for her pioneering research in Coptic music, and in 1992 the Music Division at the Library of Congress recruited her as consultant in Coptic Music, a position she held until her death. A devout Mormon, she fulfilled various callings on the ward level, most recently as Gospel Doctrine leader. Marian was the happy wife of the late W. Keith Wilson, former Chief of Probation and Parole for the State of Utah, who predeceased her in 1994. She is survived by siblings Renee R. (Stephen) Whitesides, Karen R. Post, Jim (Bonita) Robertson, and by many beloved nieces and nephews. She loved her nieces and nephews (and grand-nieces and grand-nephews) dearly, and they all dearly loved her. They couldn't wait for a letter and/or an annual birthday card from "Aunt Marian." A memorial service will be held on Thursday, April 11, 2013 at 12:00 Noon at Larkin Mortuary, 260 East South Temple. There will be a visitation of family and friends at 11:00, prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Leroy J. Robertson Foundation, Music Department, University of Utah. Marian thought the following items were too cumbersome for an obituary, but we, her siblings, think they should be included. (1) From junior high school onward she consistently maintained a straight "A" record. (2)She was the very first student from a Utah school (U of U) to win a Fulbright Scholarship (1950-1951) (3)She corresponded in French for 12 years with poet-playwright, Jean Cocteau, until his death in 1963 which is how she "honed" her French writing skills. (4)She was a performing student in the Casal's Master Classes at UC Berkeley from 1960-1962 (5)Very ecumenical, she loved reading the scriptures from her earliest years. As a teenager she began reading the New Testament in the original Greek; later memorized and chanted the entire Koran in Arabic; analyzed and translated Coptic liturgies. [Deseret News, Monday, April 9 to Tuesday, April 10, 2013]

Class of 1949. Carolyn [or Caroline] Robertson. Fauvines, Notre Maison, Chorus, Opera. ["Caroline Robertson" in 1949 yearbook] Listed as "Carolyn Robertson" she graduated in absentia or "absentee" from BYH on May 26, 1949. Source: 1949 BYH Graduation Exercises Program. ~ ~ ~ ~ Carolyn Robertson, estimated birth year 1931, was born in Utah. In the 1940 census, Carolyn, age 9, and her family were living in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her parents were Hilton A. Robertson and Hazel M. Robertson. Another daughter, Carolyn's sister, Norma Robertson, four years older than Carolyn, graduated from Brigham Young High School in 1944. ~ ~ ~ ~ PART OF THE ROBERTSON FAMILY STORY: BY Muriel Jenkins Heal, “‘We Will Go’: The Robertson Response,” Ensign, Apr 1982, 32. Answering the first of many calls to serve peoples of the Far East in missionary service, Hilton A. Robertson and his wife Hazel first set foot on Japanese soil in June of 1921. Their love for the Oriental people would grow and deepen over a lifetime of sharing the gospel in Japan, China, Hawaii, and the United States. Five times a mission president, Brother Robertson, now 90, would likely be delighted to serve again if age and health permitted. Young Brother Hilton was reared on a twenty-acre sugarbeet farm in Springville, Utah. His father, Alexander, came as a seventeen-year-old convert from Scotland with his five brothers and widowed mother to Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1850, selling all their belongings at auction in order to make a fresh start among the Saints in America. “My father only gave me one sermon,” he reflected as I sat across from him. “He said to me, ‘Get your name on the tithing records of the Church and keep it there.’ My mother taught me faith and morality. I remember how faithful she was in serving the people as midwife at no charge. She gave her time to friends and strangers alike. This is what I saw … the sermons that I received from mother and father.” Elder Robertson was seated in his home surrounded by mementos of the Orient. A portrait of his wife-missionary companion, Hazel, who died in 1976 hung on the wall above his chair. “She was mine, I knew from the beginning.” He motioned toward the portrait. “Hazel and I wouldn’t have married so soon [both were in their early twenties] but her parents were moving to Idaho, and it was get her then, or. … We were married in 1912 in the Salt Lake Temple. Afterward we made our home in Springville until we went to Japan. “I had a patriarchal blessing in 1920. The patriarch said, ‘You will travel much for the gospel’s sake. You will travel by land and by sea.’ We figured then that I would get a call to go on a mission. “Of course, we didn’t have any idea that my wife would be going, but we had looked forward to and made preparations for my mission. When the call came to us both, we had to sell our home. I had saved the money to buy the house when we were married, and paid cash. With two of us going it wouldn’t take long to use up that $2,000. So I said, ‘We’ll go, and afterward the Lord will have to provide.’ ” The Japanese Mission had been opened up in 1901 by Elder Heber J. Grant and three missionaries. The language was the greatest barrier, and it usually took several years to become effective as a missionary; thus a mission term in Japan usually lasted five years. “The hardest thing I ever had to do was to tell my father goodbye, knowing I would probably not see him again,” President Robertson recalled. His father was ninety years old when they left. Hazel and Hilton Robertson were the first of several couples from Utah to be called to serve under President Lloyd O. Ivie in Japan at that time. They entered the harbor of Tokyo on the great ship Empress of Russia on 6 June 1921. “When we reached Japan, it was like moving into a new world. We could see the rickshas lined up on shore like baby buggies. There were oxcarts loaded heavily with merchandise to ship out; bicycles of all types, and men pulling heavy loads. In contrast were the electric lines overhead, airplanes above, and the great ships in the harbor. “The missionaries met us and guided us to the mission home, a very modest place. It was a two-story building, and meetings were held on the lower floor. Japanese customs were carried out in the mission home, except there were beds.” At that time there were conferences (branches) at Kofu, Tokyo, Osaka, Sendai, Sapporo, and one soon to be opened at Onomichi. Sunday School and sacrament meeting were held on Sunday morning, with “Saints’ meeting,” or “preaching meeting,” held in the evening. Street meetings were held frequently. Elder Robertson noted in his diary one week after arrival: “At a street meeting I distributed three hundred tracts introducing the work, and sold eighteen Bibles.” After a month in Tokyo, they were sent to Sapporo where they were told the streets of the city had been planned after the Salt Lake City system. There the climate was much like that of Utah, with vegetables and fruits like those found at home. Sunday School was well attended, with close to fifty people present most of the time. On Elder Robertson’s first tracting experience in Sapporo he delivered forty-four tracts, using this speech in Japanese: “I missionary, member of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in this district. Small book, free, I give to you. Please read it. I have been a trouble to you. Excuse me, good-bye.” He held the written speech in his hat the first few times for referral. Should anyone question him he would simply take leave, being unable to answer. After two months in Sapporo, the Robertsons were called to Osaka where they spent a year and a half and enjoyed an exceptional spirit of harmony and love among the people. There they taught classes on the life of Christ and Joseph Smith and on the New Testament and the Book of Mormon. Elder Robertson also taught English at Higashi Shoyo Gakko (East Side High School). It was an excellent opportunity for daily gospel discussions with thirty other teachers, students, and sometimes parents. On 1 September 1923 Elder Robertson and Elder Elwood Christensen had stopped at noon for an ice cream treat in the city of Osaka, when they felt the first jolt of the catastrophic earthquake that leveled Tokyo, Yokohama, and thirteen surrounding villages, leaving two million people huddled homeless on the outskirts of the smoldering ruins. In Osaka there was little damage, but because of crippled communications there was no word from the Tokyo district. After a few days of waiting, Elder Robertson took a train to Tokyo. He was required to take enough food for a week or he would not have been allowed to make the trip. After a long journey with many transfers he found the western suburb mission home of Yodobashi with everything intact and all Saints and missionaries unharmed. Less than two months later Elder Robertson received a letter appointing him to succeed Lloyd O. Ivie as president of the Japan Mission. After serving only a little more than two years in another country with a still-rudimentary knowledge of a strange language, to take over as mission president was a most humbling challenge. In his daily journal Elder Robertson wrote: “I feel keenly such responsibility and only through the help of my Father in Heaven could I be of any service in this great calling. I know that the Lord will make me equal to this calling if I devote myself to it in all sincerity and in humility, do my part. This I intend to do.” The next year, 1924, was a time of political unrest. Missionaries felt Japan’s growing hostility toward Americans, caused by new U.S. legislation prohibiting Japanese immigration. Church authorities soon closed the mission upon President Robertson’s recommendation. But he and Hazel loved the Japanese people and were confident that the groundwork laid in the mission’s first twenty-three years would not be wasted. The couple returned to Utah and became busily involved in community and church activities. They were blessed with children—two daughters, Norma and Carolyn. Brother Robertson served as a bishop, as a member of a stake presidency, and as a county commissioner for two terms. Then, in November 1936, a call came for the Robertsons to reopen the Japanese Mission with headquarters in Honolulu. This time there were not only a home and furnishings to sell, but an insurance business—and two small girls to take out of school. Brother Robertson recorded in his diary upon receiving the call: “I have felt that there were others far more qualified than I to take charge of the work, but there is only one thing to do, and that is to accept. “Our parents [his mother and Hazel’s mother and father] are old and even though we are privileged to see them again, we will be separated from them during years we would love to be with them and help in a measure to repay them for the many sacrifices they have made to make our lives more complete and happy. Our parting with them will be our hardest task.” With the cooperation of President Francis Bailey, president of the Hawaiian Mission, separate headquarters were set up, and in a few months the two missions were functioning independently. A handful of Church members were found among the 150,000 Japanese in Hawaii, and at the first meeting of the Japanese Mission held under the direction of President Robertson, twenty Japanese members were in attendance. In April 1939, after much preparation with letters from U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull, Utah state senators, and others, President Robertson was sent to Japan to assure the Saints that the General Authorities were interested in their welfare and that the time would come when missionaries would again labor in their land. In the month spent there, he visited many members in their homes. (Organized meetings were not allowed by the Imperial government.) There were ordinances to be performed, including many baptisms requested for children and relatives. The president spent many hours looking for appropriate white clothing to be used in performing the first baptism, and finally used his newly laundered white pajamas. One sister was able to take the sacrament for the first time in twenty-one years. Just before President Robertson’s return to Hawaii, a worthy priest was ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood, making a pair of elders who could carry on the ordinances of the priesthood. “It was hard to hide the tears at parting, but as I visited with the different Saints,” he recalled, “I could see that the cleanliness of their thought and living had had a decided effect upon their entire physical makeup. There was a look of contentment and satisfaction written upon each face.” It was this trip to Japan in 1939 that made it possible for the Church to enter Japan after World War II. President Robertson said that had the Church not sent missionaries to keep in touch with members at that time, the U.S. Occupational Forces would not have permitted missionary work to resume in 1948 under the direction of President Edward L. Clissold. The Robertsons returned to Provo, Utah, after three and one-half years in Hawaii, leaving a well-established mission home, fifty missionaries, and two fully-organized branches of Japanese members. Life in Utah began again with a new business in real estate and insurance and an opportunity to serve a second time as a bishop. Then in February 1949 they received a call to come to Salt Lake City. “I met Brother David O. McKay in his office at the appointed hour. We talked about the Orient and more especially about the Chinese,” related President Robertson, “and whom I thought would be the most likely person in the Church to send to China. I gave him four names. He said ‘Brother Robertson, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve have considered the feasibility of opening the Chinese Mission after much sincere and thoughtful prayer, and they were unanimous in feeling that you should be sent to open that mission. They feel that you know more about the Oriental people than any other man in the Church.’ ” In July they arrived in Hong Kong with Brother and Sister Henry Aki of Honolulu. Brother Aki was a faithful Chinese member of the Church chosen to serve as first counselor. On July 14 Elder Matthew Cowley officially opened the mission, on top of a mountain they called the Peak. In attendance were Elder and Sister Cowley, President and Sister Robertson and daughter Carolyn, and Elder and Sister Henry Aki. The challenge of learning a difficult language, establishing a mission home, and preparing the way for missionaries was again upon them. By the next February they greeted their first missionaries, Elder William Paalani from Honolulu and Herald Grant Heaton from Salt Lake City. A poignant note written by one of the first Chinese investigators reflected the sincerity of those first few students of English and gospel principles: “I glad learn English from you, and more glad listen the truth of Christian in your speech.” The work in Hong Kong progressed slowly and with even more difficulty as communist activity increased, and with the outbreak of the Korean War. In May 1951 the Robertsons left Hong Kong on a fourth assignment to open a Chinese Mission headquarters in Chinatown, San Francisco. Brother and Sister Robertson felt that China had been their greatest challenge. He told President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., and President McKay, who were both horsemen, this story to illustrate: “A woman went to the stables and asked for a horse but warned the stable boy she had never ridden a horse. The boy answered: ‘Oh, don’t let that worry you; I have a horse that’s never been ridden, and you two can work it out together.’ ” The Robertsons had had no friends, no openings, no literature of any kind, and didn’t speak the language. But they had worked it out “together.” After two years the Chinatown mission was transferred to the San Francisco Stake Mission, and in January 1953 the Robertsons headed home to Utah to await a forthcoming assignment. When it came six months later, the call sent them once more to their beloved Japan. On 10 September 1953 President David O. McKay set them apart to preside over the Japanese and Chinese Missions including the Philippine Islands, Korea, Guam, and Okinawa, with headquarters in Tokyo. At that time, President McKay told him: “You have rendered service in the past that will reverberate in the hearts of men and women with whom you have come in contact, for years and probably ages to come. Your service, and that of your dear wife, will continue to go from soul to soul resulting in the conversion, comfort, and peace of many souls. You have demonstrated to the Lord your willingness to lose yourselves in the service of the Master, and you are entitled to the blessings implied in the Savior’s remarks: ‘He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.’ ” The next three years were truly a time of fulfillment. World War II had left its mark upon the Japanese people and the world. There was a general turning toward religion, a seeking for truth. U.S. servicemen and their families in the Far East area were doing a great missionary service on their own, supporting eighteen full-time Japanese missionaries in Japan and the islands of the area. President Robertson was given travel priority rating of Brigadier General for ease in traveling to servicemen’s conferences and to maintain contact with the far areas of the mission. The Church began to grow, for the field was ready for the harvest. Sister Emma Rae McKay asked President Robertson immediately after one of their many calls to serve, “What do you think about all these calls you get to go?” “Oh, we don’t think,” came the response. “The call comes, we just say ‘Okay!’ and we go.” The answer was typical of the Robertsons. Source.

Class of 1915. Ella Robertson. She received a BYH Normal Certificate in 1915. Source: Annual Record, B.Y. University, Book 8, page 413.

Brigham Young High School, Class of 1907. Jessie Robertson received a Normal Diploma. Source: Students Record of Class Standings B.Y. Academy, Book 2, Page 276. ~ ~ ~ ~ BYH Class of 1907. Jessie Robertson, a Normal graduate. BYU [& BYH] Class of 1907 Listing of BYH Normal, High School, Commercial, Music, Agriculture, and Arts & Trades graduates. Source: Brigham Young University & Normal Training School, Catalogue & Announcements, for 32nd Academic Year, 1907-1908, p. 136. ~ ~ ~ ~ Jessie Robertson was born on January 23, 1887 in Springville, Utah. Her parents were Alexander Robertson and Lucy Maria Smith Robertson. Jessie Robertson married Nephi James Wadley on June 10, 1908 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Jessie Robertson Wadley died on April 27, 1981 in Pleasant Grove, Utah. Her interment, Pleasant Grove, Utah.

Collegiate Grad of BYU, Class of 1928. John Wesley Robertson. He received a BS Degree in 1928. Source: Annual Record, B.Y. University, Book 10, page 42.

Class of 1914. Leon Robertson. Graduated in 1914 from Brigham Young High School, Academic Department. Source 1: 1914 BYU Banyan, BYH section, pp. 84-89. ~ ~ ~ ~ Class of 1914. J. Leon Robertson. He received a BYH Agriculture Diploma in 1914. Source 2: Annual Record, B.Y. University, Book 8, page 24.

Class of 1916. Leroy J. Robertson. He received a High School Diploma from the BYH Music Department in 1916. Source: Annual Record, B.Y. University, Book 9, page 79. ~ ~ ~ ~ 1996 NEWS ARTICLE: Composer Portrayed Lovingly in Biography. By William S. Goodfellow, Deseret News Music Critic. "A year ago [in 1995] I did a story on a new CD of some of Leroy Robertson's compositions - the first recording of any of his music in years - and immediately afterward people began asking me where they could find out more about this man who was once considered Utah's foremost composer. Well, a good place to start would be this new biography by his daughter, Marian Robertson Wilson. Issued in time for the Utah Centennial - which also happens to be the 100th anniversary of Robertson's birth - it recounts in loving detail the early years in Fountain Green, where he made his first violin from a cigar box; his move to Pleasant Grove, then to Brigham Young High School; his years with Chadwick at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he won the Endicott Prize for his Overture in E minor; and his eventual return to Utah, climaxed by his being named the winner of the $25,000 Reichhold Award for his ``Trilogy'' in 1947, a feat that garnered him international attention. That is a long way from the slopes of Sanpete County, where Robertson penned much of his music while tending sheep. And in between come fateful encounters with everyone from LDS apostle Melvin J. Ballard, whose comments planted the seed that would later grow into the ``Oratorio From the Book of Mormon,'' to composers Ernest Bloch and Arnold Schoenberg and newly appointed Utah Symphony conductor Maurice Abravanel, who would become Robertson's most ardent champion. I wouldn't have minded more analysis, especially of some of the pieces. Nor does the prose always flow as it might. But the man himself emerges from these pages, as do behind-the-scenes glimpses of such things as when Robertson left BYU in 1948 to take the chairmanship of the University of Utah Music Department - largely to help build both the U. program and the Utah Symphony - and the eventual mounting by the latter of the ``Book of Mormon'' Oratorio, which had at one point been scheduled for the 1947 Pioneer Centennial, only to be replaced by Crawford Gates' ``Promised Valley'' - something Robertson learned by reading it in the newspaper. Indeed, if there is a subtext in this book, it may be one of dashed hopes and missed opportunities. Again and again one reads of promised performances of Robertson music by the likes of Milstein, Menuhin and Stokowski, performances that never materialized. One also cannot help but wonder if Robertson was right not to go for the Rome Prize that Chadwick wanted to put him up for in his student days and to reject the offers that were put before him after his subsequent out-of-state successes (including the directorship of the Cleveland Institute of Music). Of course, if he hadn't, music in Utah would have been the poorer. And not just because of his music but also because of the countless composers and musicians he influenced during his years here (including yours truly). Factual errors, like typos, appear to be minor - things like attributing the Utah Symphony's pioneering ``Judas Maccabaeus'' recording to Westminster, when actually it was for the Handel Society. (The Westminster recording came later.) Or referring to those early Kingsbury Hall opera productions as having ``laid the foundation for what would become Opera West,'' when what is meant is almost certainly Utah Opera. More bothersome is the lack of a complete list of published compositions and/or recordings of Robertson's music (though several are referred to in the text itself). After all, just as those who hear the music may want to read the book, those who read the book may want to hear the music. And they need to know how." [Published in the Deseret News, Sunday, September 29, 1996.] ~ ~ ~ ~ Leroy Jasper Robertson was born on December 21, 1896 in Fountain Green, Sanpete County, Utah. His parents were Jasper Heber Robertson and Alice Almyra Adams Robertson. Leroy married Maggie Naomi Nelson (sic) on September 1, 1925 in Milton, Morgan County, Utah. Maggie was born on December 18, 1900 in Milton, Utah. Her parents were Waldemar Theador Nielson (sic) and Karen Marie Jensen Nielson (sic). Leroy J. Robertson died on July 25, 1971 in Salt Lake City, Utah. His interment, Salt Lake City, Utah [or American Fork, Utah]. ~ ~ ~ ~ BRIEF BIOGRAPHY: Leroy Jasper Robertson was born to Jasper Heber Robertson and Alice Almyra Adams Robertson in December of 1896 at Fountain Green, Utah. Fountain Green is a small community located in a mountain valley approximately 100 miles south of Salt Lake City. The family were descendants of the Utah pioneers. A love of music was evident early in Leroy's childhood. It is said that as a youth he herded sheep for his father in the west desert of Utah and his experiences there were later believed to have influenced some of his music. His parents evidently were not wealthy but supported the development of Leroy's talent away from home. He is said to have studied first under Anthony C. Lund and had gained a reputation as a violinist when he graduated from Brigham Young High School in 1916. He made his way to Boston to attend the New England Conservatory of Music, graduating in 1923. Leroy returned to Utah to teach and supervise music education in public schools until being appointed to the faculty of Brigham Young University (BYU) in 1925. This same year he married Naomi Nelson and they were eventually blessed with four children. During his time at BYU he served as director of the school of music from 1935 - 1936 and 1946-1947. He continued his own studies at home and abroad and received bachelor's and masters degrees from BYU in 1932. In 1948 he left BYU and accepted a position at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. One of his reasons for doing so was to assist his friend Maurice Abravanel in the development of the Utah Symphony Orchestra. Leroy served as chairman of the University of Utah Department of Music from 1948 to 1962, and is noted to have taken the curriculum to national accreditation standards. Together with Abravanel and William Christensen, co-founder of Ballet West, he is credited with helping lift Utah into national prominence in the arts. In 1953 Maurice Abravanel, in an act of encouragement to his friend, scheduled a performance for the Utah Symphony to debut Leroy Robertson's 'Oratorio from the Book of Mormon,' thus forcing the composer to put the finishing touches on the work that he had begun over thirty years earlier. The concept had come from a conversation with a church leader, Melvin J. Ballard, during a train journey in 1919. His daughter relates the account of how one of his most well-known pieces from the oratorio, his setting of "The Lord's Prayer" came to him as he picked up chalk in an advanced music class he was teaching. The words and music setting entered his mind and came so rapidly that he scarcely could capture it, but just as the bell rang he finished notating the piece on the chalkboard. Not too overwhelmed to be practical, he immediately copied it down on manuscript paper to avoid the chance of it being erased by the evening custodians. Much of the composition work for the oratorio, however, was done at home, amid the activities of the family. The debut was a success and the oratorio was very popular locally. A commercial recording by the Utah Symphony in 1961 brought wider prominence and it was performed elsewhere. The setting of "The Lord's Prayer" from the oratorio was recorded by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and released as a 45 single (phonograph record). Leroy continued learning and completed a PhD at the University of Southern California in 1954. He wrote many compositions for orchestra, choir and piano performances, along with hymn tunes, and one hymn text. He received numerous awards during his career. In addition to his more public professional endeavors, Leroy was a member of the General Music Committee of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) for over thirty years and served as its chairman for a time. Leroy Robertson was described as tall and in addition to being a warm and caring family man, was noted as a gifted and devoted teacher who cared about his students, helping them develop their talents. His students included some who became well known, such as Crawford Gates, Robert Cundick, Darwin Wolford and his daughter, Marian Robertson-Wilson. The remarkable life of Leroy J. Robertson drew to a close in July of 1971. His music continues to uplift and encourage today, with eight of his hymn tunes included in the current LDS hymnal. Source

Class of 1944. Marion Robertson. [Female]

Class of 1963. Mary Lynn Robertson. Drama, Girls Glee Club, Chorus, Seminary Graduate, Thespians, F.H.A. BYU BS Education 1976. International Folkdancer. She married ______ Sellers. @2008 ~ ~ ~ ~ Email sent to marylusellers@aol.com bounced back. @2010

Class of 1944. Norma Robertson. Norma's estimated birth year was 1927, and she was born in Utah. In the 1940 Census, Norma, age 13, and her family were living in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her adoptive parents were Hilton A. Robertson and Hazel M. Robertson. Her sister, Carolyn Robertson, four years younger, graduated from Brigham Young High School in 1949. On the 1930 Census, Norma Robertson, age 3, is listed as their adopted daughter. ~ ~ ~ ~ PART OF THE ROBERTSON FAMILY STORY: BY Muriel Jenkins Heal, “‘We Will Go’: The Robertson Response,” Ensign, Apr 1982, 32. Answering the first of many calls to serve peoples of the Far East in missionary service, Hilton A. Robertson and his wife Hazel first set foot on Japanese soil in June of 1921. Their love for the Oriental people would grow and deepen over a lifetime of sharing the gospel in Japan, China, Hawaii, and the United States. Five times a mission president, Brother Robertson, now 90, would likely be delighted to serve again if age and health permitted. Young Brother Hilton was reared on a twenty-acre sugarbeet farm in Springville, Utah. His father, Alexander, came as a seventeen-year-old convert from Scotland with his five brothers and widowed mother to Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1850, selling all their belongings at auction in order to make a fresh start among the Saints in America. “My father only gave me one sermon,” he reflected as I sat across from him. “He said to me, ‘Get your name on the tithing records of the Church and keep it there.’ My mother taught me faith and morality. I remember how faithful she was in serving the people as midwife at no charge. She gave her time to friends and strangers alike. This is what I saw … the sermons that I received from mother and father.” Elder Robertson was seated in his home surrounded by mementos of the Orient. A portrait of his wife-missionary companion, Hazel, who died in 1976 hung on the wall above his chair. “She was mine, I knew from the beginning.” He motioned toward the portrait. “Hazel and I wouldn’t have married so soon [both were in their early twenties] but her parents were moving to Idaho, and it was get her then, or. … We were married in 1912 in the Salt Lake Temple. Afterward we made our home in Springville until we went to Japan. “I had a patriarchal blessing in 1920. The patriarch said, ‘You will travel much for the gospel’s sake. You will travel by land and by sea.’ We figured then that I would get a call to go on a mission. “Of course, we didn’t have any idea that my wife would be going, but we had looked forward to and made preparations for my mission. When the call came to us both, we had to sell our home. I had saved the money to buy the house when we were married, and paid cash. With two of us going it wouldn’t take long to use up that $2,000. So I said, ‘We’ll go, and afterward the Lord will have to provide.’ ” The Japanese Mission had been opened up in 1901 by Elder Heber J. Grant and three missionaries. The language was the greatest barrier, and it usually took several years to become effective as a missionary; thus a mission term in Japan usually lasted five years. “The hardest thing I ever had to do was to tell my father goodbye, knowing I would probably not see him again,” President Robertson recalled. His father was ninety years old when they left. Hazel and Hilton Robertson were the first of several couples from Utah to be called to serve under President Lloyd O. Ivie in Japan at that time. They entered the harbor of Tokyo on the great ship Empress of Russia on 6 June 1921. “When we reached Japan, it was like moving into a new world. We could see the rickshas lined up on shore like baby buggies. There were oxcarts loaded heavily with merchandise to ship out; bicycles of all types, and men pulling heavy loads. In contrast were the electric lines overhead, airplanes above, and the great ships in the harbor. “The missionaries met us and guided us to the mission home, a very modest place. It was a two-story building, and meetings were held on the lower floor. Japanese customs were carried out in the mission home, except there were beds.” At that time there were conferences (branches) at Kofu, Tokyo, Osaka, Sendai, Sapporo, and one soon to be opened at Onomichi. Sunday School and sacrament meeting were held on Sunday morning, with “Saints’ meeting,” or “preaching meeting,” held in the evening. Street meetings were held frequently. Elder Robertson noted in his diary one week after arrival: “At a street meeting I distributed three hundred tracts introducing the work, and sold eighteen Bibles.” After a month in Tokyo, they were sent to Sapporo where they were told the streets of the city had been planned after the Salt Lake City system. There the climate was much like that of Utah, with vegetables and fruits like those found at home. Sunday School was well attended, with close to fifty people present most of the time. On Elder Robertson’s first tracting experience in Sapporo he delivered forty-four tracts, using this speech in Japanese: “I missionary, member of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in this district. Small book, free, I give to you. Please read it. I have been a trouble to you. Excuse me, good-bye.” He held the written speech in his hat the first few times for referral. Should anyone question him he would simply take leave, being unable to answer. After two months in Sapporo, the Robertsons were called to Osaka where they spent a year and a half and enjoyed an exceptional spirit of harmony and love among the people. There they taught classes on the life of Christ and Joseph Smith and on the New Testament and the Book of Mormon. Elder Robertson also taught English at Higashi Shoyo Gakko (East Side High School). It was an excellent opportunity for daily gospel discussions with thirty other teachers, students, and sometimes parents. On 1 September 1923 Elder Robertson and Elder Elwood Christensen had stopped at noon for an ice cream treat in the city of Osaka, when they felt the first jolt of the catastrophic earthquake that leveled Tokyo, Yokohama, and thirteen surrounding villages, leaving two million people huddled homeless on the outskirts of the smoldering ruins. In Osaka there was little damage, but because of crippled communications there was no word from the Tokyo district. After a few days of waiting, Elder Robertson took a train to Tokyo. He was required to take enough food for a week or he would not have been allowed to make the trip. After a long journey with many transfers he found the western suburb mission home of Yodobashi with everything intact and all Saints and missionaries unharmed. Less than two months later Elder Robertson received a letter appointing him to succeed Lloyd O. Ivie as president of the Japan Mission. After serving only a little more than two years in another country with a still-rudimentary knowledge of a strange language, to take over as mission president was a most humbling challenge. In his daily journal Elder Robertson wrote: “I feel keenly such responsibility and only through the help of my Father in Heaven could I be of any service in this great calling. I know that the Lord will make me equal to this calling if I devote myself to it in all sincerity and in humility, do my part. This I intend to do.” The next year, 1924, was a time of political unrest. Missionaries felt Japan’s growing hostility toward Americans, caused by new U.S. legislation prohibiting Japanese immigration. Church authorities soon closed the mission upon President Robertson’s recommendation. But he and Hazel loved the Japanese people and were confident that the groundwork laid in the mission’s first twenty-three years would not be wasted. The couple returned to Utah and became busily involved in community and church activities. They were blessed with children—two daughters, Norma and Carolyn. Brother Robertson served as a bishop, as a member of a stake presidency, and as a county commissioner for two terms. Then, in November 1936, a call came for the Robertsons to reopen the Japanese Mission with headquarters in Honolulu. This time there were not only a home and furnishings to sell, but an insurance business—and two small girls to take out of school. Brother Robertson recorded in his diary upon receiving the call: “I have felt that there were others far more qualified than I to take charge of the work, but there is only one thing to do, and that is to accept. “Our parents [his mother and Hazel’s mother and father] are old and even though we are privileged to see them again, we will be separated from them during years we would love to be with them and help in a measure to repay them for the many sacrifices they have made to make our lives more complete and happy. Our parting with them will be our hardest task.” With the cooperation of President Francis Bailey, president of the Hawaiian Mission, separate headquarters were set up, and in a few months the two missions were functioning independently. A handful of Church members were found among the 150,000 Japanese in Hawaii, and at the first meeting of the Japanese Mission held under the direction of President Robertson, twenty Japanese members were in attendance. In April 1939, after much preparation with letters from U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull, Utah state senators, and others, President Robertson was sent to Japan to assure the Saints that the General Authorities were interested in their welfare and that the time would come when missionaries would again labor in their land. In the month spent there, he visited many members in their homes. (Organized meetings were not allowed by the Imperial government.) There were ordinances to be performed, including many baptisms requested for children and relatives. The president spent many hours looking for appropriate white clothing to be used in performing the first baptism, and finally used his newly laundered white pajamas. One sister was able to take the sacrament for the first time in twenty-one years. Just before President Robertson’s return to Hawaii, a worthy priest was ordained to the Melchizedek Priesthood, making a pair of elders who could carry on the ordinances of the priesthood. “It was hard to hide the tears at parting, but as I visited with the different Saints,” he recalled, “I could see that the cleanliness of their thought and living had had a decided effect upon their entire physical makeup. There was a look of contentment and satisfaction written upon each face.” It was this trip to Japan in 1939 that made it possible for the Church to enter Japan after World War II. President Robertson said that had the Church not sent missionaries to keep in touch with members at that time, the U.S. Occupational Forces would not have permitted missionary work to resume in 1948 under the direction of President Edward L. Clissold. The Robertsons returned to Provo, Utah, after three and one-half years in Hawaii, leaving a well-established mission home, fifty missionaries, and two fully-organized branches of Japanese members. Life in Utah began again with a new business in real estate and insurance and an opportunity to serve a second time as a bishop. Then in February 1949 they received a call to come to Salt Lake City. “I met Brother David O. McKay in his office at the appointed hour. We talked about the Orient and more especially about the Chinese,” related President Robertson, “and whom I thought would be the most likely person in the Church to send to China. I gave him four names. He said ‘Brother Robertson, the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve have considered the feasibility of opening the Chinese Mission after much sincere and thoughtful prayer, and they were unanimous in feeling that you should be sent to open that mission. They feel that you know more about the Oriental people than any other man in the Church.’ ” In July they arrived in Hong Kong with Brother and Sister Henry Aki of Honolulu. Brother Aki was a faithful Chinese member of the Church chosen to serve as first counselor. On July 14 Elder Matthew Cowley officially opened the mission, on top of a mountain they called the Peak. In attendance were Elder and Sister Cowley, President and Sister Robertson and daughter Carolyn, and Elder and Sister Henry Aki. The challenge of learning a difficult language, establishing a mission home, and preparing the way for missionaries was again upon them. By the next February they greeted their first missionaries, Elder William Paalani from Honolulu and Herald Grant Heaton from Salt Lake City. A poignant note written by one of the first Chinese investigators reflected the sincerity of those first few students of English and gospel principles: “I glad learn English from you, and more glad listen the truth of Christian in your speech.” The work in Hong Kong progressed slowly and with even more difficulty as communist activity increased, and with the outbreak of the Korean War. In May 1951 the Robertsons left Hong Kong on a fourth assignment to open a Chinese Mission headquarters in Chinatown, San Francisco. Brother and Sister Robertson felt that China had been their greatest challenge. He told President J. Reuben Clark, Jr., and President McKay, who were both horsemen, this story to illustrate: “A woman went to the stables and asked for a horse but warned the stable boy she had never ridden a horse. The boy answered: ‘Oh, don’t let that worry you; I have a horse that’s never been ridden, and you two can work it out together.’ ” The Robertsons had had no friends, no openings, no literature of any kind, and didn’t speak the language. But they had worked it out “together.” After two years the Chinatown mission was transferred to the San Francisco Stake Mission, and in January 1953 the Robertsons headed home to Utah to await a forthcoming assignment. When it came six months later, the call sent them once more to their beloved Japan. On 10 September 1953 President David O. McKay set them apart to preside over the Japanese and Chinese Missions including the Philippine Islands, Korea, Guam, and Okinawa, with headquarters in Tokyo. At that time, President McKay told him: “You have rendered service in the past that will reverberate in the hearts of men and women with whom you have come in contact, for years and probably ages to come. Your service, and that of your dear wife, will continue to go from soul to soul resulting in the conversion, comfort, and peace of many souls. You have demonstrated to the Lord your willingness to lose yourselves in the service of the Master, and you are entitled to the blessings implied in the Savior’s remarks: ‘He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.’ ” The next three years were truly a time of fulfillment. World War II had left its mark upon the Japanese people and the world. There was a general turning toward religion, a seeking for truth. U.S. servicemen and their families in the Far East area were doing a great missionary service on their own, supporting eighteen full-time Japanese missionaries in Japan and the islands of the area. President Robertson was given travel priority rating of Brigadier General for ease in traveling to servicemen’s conferences and to maintain contact with the far areas of the mission. The Church began to grow, for the field was ready for the harvest. Sister Emma Rae McKay asked President Robertson immediately after one of their many calls to serve, “What do you think about all these calls you get to go?” “Oh, we don’t think,” came the response. “The call comes, we just say ‘Okay!’ and we go.” The answer was typical of the Robertsons. Source.