Marion G. Romney, a high official of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died May 20, 1988 at his home in Salt Lake City. He was 90 years old. Church officials said his death resulted from ''causes incident to age.''
Mr. Romney was the senior member of the church's Council of the Twelve Apostles, and for more than 45 years he had been a leading authority of the Mormon faith.
A general authority since April 6, 1941, Mr. Romney served as an assistant to the Twelve until October 1951, when he was called into the Council of the Twelve. He served in that quorum until July 7, 1972, when he was called as second counselor to then-President Harold B. Lee. After President Lee died in December 1973, Mr. Romney was asked to remain as second counselor under President Spencer W. Kimball. He was named first counselor Dec. 2, 1982, following the death of President N. Eldon Tanner.
Upon the death of President Kimball in November 1985, Mr. Romney, by seniority and calling, became president of the Council of the Twelve. However, his advanced age and his frail health prevented him from serving full time in that capacity, so another member of the Council of the Twelve, Elder Howard W. Hunter, the next senior apostle, was appointed acting president of the Council by Ezra Taft Benson, president of the church. Upon Mr. Romney's death Elder Hunter became president of the Twelve, with the vacancy in the council left by President Romney to be filled later.
Mr. Romney was born in Colonia Juarez, Mexico, where his grandfather had been sent by Morman leader Brigham Young to colonize the area. His parents, George S. and Artemesia Redd Romney, were two of the first colonists allowed by Mexican authorities to settle the region in 1885. Eight days after he was born, his father was called to serve a mission, something young Marion thought he himself never would have the means to do. He was 14 years old and the second eldest of seven children when, under pressure from Mexican revolutionaries in 1912, his father put him in charge of taking his brothers and sisters to Texas by horse and wagon.
The family migrated through the Southwest and to Idaho, and Mr. Romney served in the United States Army in 1918 and graduated from Ricks Normal College in Rexburg, Idaho, where his father was president/principal, in 1920. It was upon his return from the military as a student at Ricks that he met his future wife, Ida Jensen, an English teacher hired by his father. After graduation he took three years off to serve as a missionary. Though financial circumstances were such that he didn't think he could serve a mission, President Romney decided he could do so after hearing Elder Melvin J. Ballard speak at a conference. He went to his father and asked him to help arrange a bank loan to secure additional funds, and he was called to a three-year mission to Australia, where he served as conference president and mission secretary most of the last two years. After returning from his mission, he resumed his courtship with Ida Jensen at Brigham Young University. He once told a reporter, "When I went on a mission, I advised her to get married while I was gone. But when I came back she wasn't married, so I took care of that."
They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on Sept. 12, 1924.
Mr. Romney enrolled at BYU with plans to study mathematics and become an engineer. Later, however, he changed to history and political science and graduated from the University of Utah in 1926 with a bachelor's degree. In 1932, he graduated from the University of Utah College of Law.
He practiced law in Salt Lake City for 11 years, serving as assistant county attorney, assistant district attorney and assistant city attorney. During that time he served as a bishop and then a stake president.
After serving as an assistant District Attorney, he was elected to a term in the Utah Legislature. He rose in Mormon circles, holding offices in several church-related businesses and supervising missionary bodies in Europe, South Africa and Asia.
Among the achievements Mr. Romney was noted for was the creation of a prototype for the church's welfare system. Organized in 1936 to combat the impact of the Depression the system, based on a philosophy of self-help, was a network of farms, canneries and bakeries that provided employment and goods for needy church members. Recipients were required to work at one of the enterprises or perform some other service in return for assistance. Having served as a bishop when the church welfare plan was inaugurated, Mr. Romney had had many years of experience with welfare when, in 1941, he was called as assistant managing director of the church.
In 1951 Mr. Romney was named to the Council of Twelve Apostles, and a decade later he organized the first Spanish-speaking Mormon stake, or group of congregations, in Mexico. He was counselor to the church presidents from 1972 to 1985, when he became president of the Council of the Twelve Apostles.
During his years as a general authority, President Romney served as treasurer, board member and chairman of the board of Zion Securities Corp., the church's real estate organization.
He was on the board of directors of Beneficial Life Insurance Co. and Hotel Utah Co., as well as such non-church-owned businesses as Wasatch Lawn Cemetery Association, People's First Thrift and the Salt Lake Knitting Works.
He was also a member of the board of trustees of BYU and the Church Board of Education.
As a member of the Council of the Twelve, he served as an adviser to several church auxiliary organizations. He was active in developing the correlation program and, at various times, headed its adult committee, home teaching committee and family home evening committee. He also chaired the church building advisory committee.
The Mutual Improvement Association presented him and his wife with honorary Master M Man and Golden Gleaner awards in 1961. In 1972, President Romney received the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the University of Utah Alumni Association.
In connection with his legal career, he was a member of the Order of the Coif, a national legal honorary society; the American Bar Association; the Utah State Bar; Phi Alpha Delta; and Phi Kappa Phi. In 1975, he received an honorary doctor of law degree from BYU, where he had been instrumental in founding the J. Reuben Clark Law School.
Mr.Romney served as an adviser to the Welfare Division of the Utah State Civil Defense Council during World War II. For several years before his call into the general councils of the church, he was active in the Democratic Party.
Former Gov. Scott M. Matheson of Utah, a cousin of Mr. Romney.
Another cousin is George Romney, the former Governor of Michigan who ran for the Republican nomination for President in 1968. George Romney's son Mitt would later become governor of Massachusetts and run for president of the United States.
Mr. Romney's wife, the former Ida Jensen, whom he married in 1924, died on March 9, 1979 after suffering a stroke. He was survived by three sisters, Artemesia Ballif and Jasmine Edmunds, both of Provo, Utah, and Merlyn Walters of Salt Lake City; two sons, Richard J. Romney of Winters, Calif., and Gary J. Romney of Salt Lake City, eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. They had two children who died in infancy.
His funeral was held in the Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City.
Sources; "Marion G. Romney, 90, President Of the Mormon Council of Twelve", The New York Times, May 21, 1988; "Pres. Marion G. Romney, 90, Dies At His S.L. Home" , The Desert News, May 20, 1988
Information compiled by Contributor Starfishin (#48860385)
Mr. Romney was the senior member of the church's Council of the Twelve Apostles, and for more than 45 years he had been a leading authority of the Mormon faith.
A general authority since April 6, 1941, Mr. Romney served as an assistant to the Twelve until October 1951, when he was called into the Council of the Twelve. He served in that quorum until July 7, 1972, when he was called as second counselor to then-President Harold B. Lee. After President Lee died in December 1973, Mr. Romney was asked to remain as second counselor under President Spencer W. Kimball. He was named first counselor Dec. 2, 1982, following the death of President N. Eldon Tanner.
Upon the death of President Kimball in November 1985, Mr. Romney, by seniority and calling, became president of the Council of the Twelve. However, his advanced age and his frail health prevented him from serving full time in that capacity, so another member of the Council of the Twelve, Elder Howard W. Hunter, the next senior apostle, was appointed acting president of the Council by Ezra Taft Benson, president of the church. Upon Mr. Romney's death Elder Hunter became president of the Twelve, with the vacancy in the council left by President Romney to be filled later.
Mr. Romney was born in Colonia Juarez, Mexico, where his grandfather had been sent by Morman leader Brigham Young to colonize the area. His parents, George S. and Artemesia Redd Romney, were two of the first colonists allowed by Mexican authorities to settle the region in 1885. Eight days after he was born, his father was called to serve a mission, something young Marion thought he himself never would have the means to do. He was 14 years old and the second eldest of seven children when, under pressure from Mexican revolutionaries in 1912, his father put him in charge of taking his brothers and sisters to Texas by horse and wagon.
The family migrated through the Southwest and to Idaho, and Mr. Romney served in the United States Army in 1918 and graduated from Ricks Normal College in Rexburg, Idaho, where his father was president/principal, in 1920. It was upon his return from the military as a student at Ricks that he met his future wife, Ida Jensen, an English teacher hired by his father. After graduation he took three years off to serve as a missionary. Though financial circumstances were such that he didn't think he could serve a mission, President Romney decided he could do so after hearing Elder Melvin J. Ballard speak at a conference. He went to his father and asked him to help arrange a bank loan to secure additional funds, and he was called to a three-year mission to Australia, where he served as conference president and mission secretary most of the last two years. After returning from his mission, he resumed his courtship with Ida Jensen at Brigham Young University. He once told a reporter, "When I went on a mission, I advised her to get married while I was gone. But when I came back she wasn't married, so I took care of that."
They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on Sept. 12, 1924.
Mr. Romney enrolled at BYU with plans to study mathematics and become an engineer. Later, however, he changed to history and political science and graduated from the University of Utah in 1926 with a bachelor's degree. In 1932, he graduated from the University of Utah College of Law.
He practiced law in Salt Lake City for 11 years, serving as assistant county attorney, assistant district attorney and assistant city attorney. During that time he served as a bishop and then a stake president.
After serving as an assistant District Attorney, he was elected to a term in the Utah Legislature. He rose in Mormon circles, holding offices in several church-related businesses and supervising missionary bodies in Europe, South Africa and Asia.
Among the achievements Mr. Romney was noted for was the creation of a prototype for the church's welfare system. Organized in 1936 to combat the impact of the Depression the system, based on a philosophy of self-help, was a network of farms, canneries and bakeries that provided employment and goods for needy church members. Recipients were required to work at one of the enterprises or perform some other service in return for assistance. Having served as a bishop when the church welfare plan was inaugurated, Mr. Romney had had many years of experience with welfare when, in 1941, he was called as assistant managing director of the church.
In 1951 Mr. Romney was named to the Council of Twelve Apostles, and a decade later he organized the first Spanish-speaking Mormon stake, or group of congregations, in Mexico. He was counselor to the church presidents from 1972 to 1985, when he became president of the Council of the Twelve Apostles.
During his years as a general authority, President Romney served as treasurer, board member and chairman of the board of Zion Securities Corp., the church's real estate organization.
He was on the board of directors of Beneficial Life Insurance Co. and Hotel Utah Co., as well as such non-church-owned businesses as Wasatch Lawn Cemetery Association, People's First Thrift and the Salt Lake Knitting Works.
He was also a member of the board of trustees of BYU and the Church Board of Education.
As a member of the Council of the Twelve, he served as an adviser to several church auxiliary organizations. He was active in developing the correlation program and, at various times, headed its adult committee, home teaching committee and family home evening committee. He also chaired the church building advisory committee.
The Mutual Improvement Association presented him and his wife with honorary Master M Man and Golden Gleaner awards in 1961. In 1972, President Romney received the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the University of Utah Alumni Association.
In connection with his legal career, he was a member of the Order of the Coif, a national legal honorary society; the American Bar Association; the Utah State Bar; Phi Alpha Delta; and Phi Kappa Phi. In 1975, he received an honorary doctor of law degree from BYU, where he had been instrumental in founding the J. Reuben Clark Law School.
Mr.Romney served as an adviser to the Welfare Division of the Utah State Civil Defense Council during World War II. For several years before his call into the general councils of the church, he was active in the Democratic Party.
Former Gov. Scott M. Matheson of Utah, a cousin of Mr. Romney.
Another cousin is George Romney, the former Governor of Michigan who ran for the Republican nomination for President in 1968. George Romney's son Mitt would later become governor of Massachusetts and run for president of the United States.
Mr. Romney's wife, the former Ida Jensen, whom he married in 1924, died on March 9, 1979 after suffering a stroke. He was survived by three sisters, Artemesia Ballif and Jasmine Edmunds, both of Provo, Utah, and Merlyn Walters of Salt Lake City; two sons, Richard J. Romney of Winters, Calif., and Gary J. Romney of Salt Lake City, eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. They had two children who died in infancy.
His funeral was held in the Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City.
Sources; "Marion G. Romney, 90, President Of the Mormon Council of Twelve", The New York Times, May 21, 1988; "Pres. Marion G. Romney, 90, Dies At His S.L. Home" , The Desert News, May 20, 1988
Information compiled by Contributor Starfishin (#48860385)
Marion G. Romney, a high official of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died May 20, 1988 at his home in Salt Lake City. He was 90 years old. Church officials said his death resulted from ''causes incident to age.''
Mr. Romney was the senior member of the church's Council of the Twelve Apostles, and for more than 45 years he had been a leading authority of the Mormon faith.
A general authority since April 6, 1941, Mr. Romney served as an assistant to the Twelve until October 1951, when he was called into the Council of the Twelve. He served in that quorum until July 7, 1972, when he was called as second counselor to then-President Harold B. Lee. After President Lee died in December 1973, Mr. Romney was asked to remain as second counselor under President Spencer W. Kimball. He was named first counselor Dec. 2, 1982, following the death of President N. Eldon Tanner.
Upon the death of President Kimball in November 1985, Mr. Romney, by seniority and calling, became president of the Council of the Twelve. However, his advanced age and his frail health prevented him from serving full time in that capacity, so another member of the Council of the Twelve, Elder Howard W. Hunter, the next senior apostle, was appointed acting president of the Council by Ezra Taft Benson, president of the church. Upon Mr. Romney's death Elder Hunter became president of the Twelve, with the vacancy in the council left by President Romney to be filled later.
Mr. Romney was born in Colonia Juarez, Mexico, where his grandfather had been sent by Morman leader Brigham Young to colonize the area. His parents, George S. and Artemesia Redd Romney, were two of the first colonists allowed by Mexican authorities to settle the region in 1885. Eight days after he was born, his father was called to serve a mission, something young Marion thought he himself never would have the means to do. He was 14 years old and the second eldest of seven children when, under pressure from Mexican revolutionaries in 1912, his father put him in charge of taking his brothers and sisters to Texas by horse and wagon.
The family migrated through the Southwest and to Idaho, and Mr. Romney served in the United States Army in 1918 and graduated from Ricks Normal College in Rexburg, Idaho, where his father was president/principal, in 1920. It was upon his return from the military as a student at Ricks that he met his future wife, Ida Jensen, an English teacher hired by his father. After graduation he took three years off to serve as a missionary. Though financial circumstances were such that he didn't think he could serve a mission, President Romney decided he could do so after hearing Elder Melvin J. Ballard speak at a conference. He went to his father and asked him to help arrange a bank loan to secure additional funds, and he was called to a three-year mission to Australia, where he served as conference president and mission secretary most of the last two years. After returning from his mission, he resumed his courtship with Ida Jensen at Brigham Young University. He once told a reporter, "When I went on a mission, I advised her to get married while I was gone. But when I came back she wasn't married, so I took care of that."
They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on Sept. 12, 1924.
Mr. Romney enrolled at BYU with plans to study mathematics and become an engineer. Later, however, he changed to history and political science and graduated from the University of Utah in 1926 with a bachelor's degree. In 1932, he graduated from the University of Utah College of Law.
He practiced law in Salt Lake City for 11 years, serving as assistant county attorney, assistant district attorney and assistant city attorney. During that time he served as a bishop and then a stake president.
After serving as an assistant District Attorney, he was elected to a term in the Utah Legislature. He rose in Mormon circles, holding offices in several church-related businesses and supervising missionary bodies in Europe, South Africa and Asia.
Among the achievements Mr. Romney was noted for was the creation of a prototype for the church's welfare system. Organized in 1936 to combat the impact of the Depression the system, based on a philosophy of self-help, was a network of farms, canneries and bakeries that provided employment and goods for needy church members. Recipients were required to work at one of the enterprises or perform some other service in return for assistance. Having served as a bishop when the church welfare plan was inaugurated, Mr. Romney had had many years of experience with welfare when, in 1941, he was called as assistant managing director of the church.
In 1951 Mr. Romney was named to the Council of Twelve Apostles, and a decade later he organized the first Spanish-speaking Mormon stake, or group of congregations, in Mexico. He was counselor to the church presidents from 1972 to 1985, when he became president of the Council of the Twelve Apostles.
During his years as a general authority, President Romney served as treasurer, board member and chairman of the board of Zion Securities Corp., the church's real estate organization.
He was on the board of directors of Beneficial Life Insurance Co. and Hotel Utah Co., as well as such non-church-owned businesses as Wasatch Lawn Cemetery Association, People's First Thrift and the Salt Lake Knitting Works.
He was also a member of the board of trustees of BYU and the Church Board of Education.
As a member of the Council of the Twelve, he served as an adviser to several church auxiliary organizations. He was active in developing the correlation program and, at various times, headed its adult committee, home teaching committee and family home evening committee. He also chaired the church building advisory committee.
The Mutual Improvement Association presented him and his wife with honorary Master M Man and Golden Gleaner awards in 1961. In 1972, President Romney received the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the University of Utah Alumni Association.
In connection with his legal career, he was a member of the Order of the Coif, a national legal honorary society; the American Bar Association; the Utah State Bar; Phi Alpha Delta; and Phi Kappa Phi. In 1975, he received an honorary doctor of law degree from BYU, where he had been instrumental in founding the J. Reuben Clark Law School.
Mr.Romney served as an adviser to the Welfare Division of the Utah State Civil Defense Council during World War II. For several years before his call into the general councils of the church, he was active in the Democratic Party.
Former Gov. Scott M. Matheson of Utah, a cousin of Mr. Romney.
Another cousin is George Romney, the former Governor of Michigan who ran for the Republican nomination for President in 1968. George Romney's son Mitt would later become governor of Massachusetts and run for president of the United States.
Mr. Romney's wife, the former Ida Jensen, whom he married in 1924, died on March 9, 1979 after suffering a stroke. He was survived by three sisters, Artemesia Ballif and Jasmine Edmunds, both of Provo, Utah, and Merlyn Walters of Salt Lake City; two sons, Richard J. Romney of Winters, Calif., and Gary J. Romney of Salt Lake City, eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. They had two children who died in infancy.
His funeral was held in the Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City.
Sources; "Marion G. Romney, 90, President Of the Mormon Council of Twelve", The New York Times, May 21, 1988; "Pres. Marion G. Romney, 90, Dies At His S.L. Home" , The Desert News, May 20, 1988
Information compiled by Contributor Starfishin (#48860385)
Mr. Romney was the senior member of the church's Council of the Twelve Apostles, and for more than 45 years he had been a leading authority of the Mormon faith.
A general authority since April 6, 1941, Mr. Romney served as an assistant to the Twelve until October 1951, when he was called into the Council of the Twelve. He served in that quorum until July 7, 1972, when he was called as second counselor to then-President Harold B. Lee. After President Lee died in December 1973, Mr. Romney was asked to remain as second counselor under President Spencer W. Kimball. He was named first counselor Dec. 2, 1982, following the death of President N. Eldon Tanner.
Upon the death of President Kimball in November 1985, Mr. Romney, by seniority and calling, became president of the Council of the Twelve. However, his advanced age and his frail health prevented him from serving full time in that capacity, so another member of the Council of the Twelve, Elder Howard W. Hunter, the next senior apostle, was appointed acting president of the Council by Ezra Taft Benson, president of the church. Upon Mr. Romney's death Elder Hunter became president of the Twelve, with the vacancy in the council left by President Romney to be filled later.
Mr. Romney was born in Colonia Juarez, Mexico, where his grandfather had been sent by Morman leader Brigham Young to colonize the area. His parents, George S. and Artemesia Redd Romney, were two of the first colonists allowed by Mexican authorities to settle the region in 1885. Eight days after he was born, his father was called to serve a mission, something young Marion thought he himself never would have the means to do. He was 14 years old and the second eldest of seven children when, under pressure from Mexican revolutionaries in 1912, his father put him in charge of taking his brothers and sisters to Texas by horse and wagon.
The family migrated through the Southwest and to Idaho, and Mr. Romney served in the United States Army in 1918 and graduated from Ricks Normal College in Rexburg, Idaho, where his father was president/principal, in 1920. It was upon his return from the military as a student at Ricks that he met his future wife, Ida Jensen, an English teacher hired by his father. After graduation he took three years off to serve as a missionary. Though financial circumstances were such that he didn't think he could serve a mission, President Romney decided he could do so after hearing Elder Melvin J. Ballard speak at a conference. He went to his father and asked him to help arrange a bank loan to secure additional funds, and he was called to a three-year mission to Australia, where he served as conference president and mission secretary most of the last two years. After returning from his mission, he resumed his courtship with Ida Jensen at Brigham Young University. He once told a reporter, "When I went on a mission, I advised her to get married while I was gone. But when I came back she wasn't married, so I took care of that."
They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on Sept. 12, 1924.
Mr. Romney enrolled at BYU with plans to study mathematics and become an engineer. Later, however, he changed to history and political science and graduated from the University of Utah in 1926 with a bachelor's degree. In 1932, he graduated from the University of Utah College of Law.
He practiced law in Salt Lake City for 11 years, serving as assistant county attorney, assistant district attorney and assistant city attorney. During that time he served as a bishop and then a stake president.
After serving as an assistant District Attorney, he was elected to a term in the Utah Legislature. He rose in Mormon circles, holding offices in several church-related businesses and supervising missionary bodies in Europe, South Africa and Asia.
Among the achievements Mr. Romney was noted for was the creation of a prototype for the church's welfare system. Organized in 1936 to combat the impact of the Depression the system, based on a philosophy of self-help, was a network of farms, canneries and bakeries that provided employment and goods for needy church members. Recipients were required to work at one of the enterprises or perform some other service in return for assistance. Having served as a bishop when the church welfare plan was inaugurated, Mr. Romney had had many years of experience with welfare when, in 1941, he was called as assistant managing director of the church.
In 1951 Mr. Romney was named to the Council of Twelve Apostles, and a decade later he organized the first Spanish-speaking Mormon stake, or group of congregations, in Mexico. He was counselor to the church presidents from 1972 to 1985, when he became president of the Council of the Twelve Apostles.
During his years as a general authority, President Romney served as treasurer, board member and chairman of the board of Zion Securities Corp., the church's real estate organization.
He was on the board of directors of Beneficial Life Insurance Co. and Hotel Utah Co., as well as such non-church-owned businesses as Wasatch Lawn Cemetery Association, People's First Thrift and the Salt Lake Knitting Works.
He was also a member of the board of trustees of BYU and the Church Board of Education.
As a member of the Council of the Twelve, he served as an adviser to several church auxiliary organizations. He was active in developing the correlation program and, at various times, headed its adult committee, home teaching committee and family home evening committee. He also chaired the church building advisory committee.
The Mutual Improvement Association presented him and his wife with honorary Master M Man and Golden Gleaner awards in 1961. In 1972, President Romney received the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the University of Utah Alumni Association.
In connection with his legal career, he was a member of the Order of the Coif, a national legal honorary society; the American Bar Association; the Utah State Bar; Phi Alpha Delta; and Phi Kappa Phi. In 1975, he received an honorary doctor of law degree from BYU, where he had been instrumental in founding the J. Reuben Clark Law School.
Mr.Romney served as an adviser to the Welfare Division of the Utah State Civil Defense Council during World War II. For several years before his call into the general councils of the church, he was active in the Democratic Party.
Former Gov. Scott M. Matheson of Utah, a cousin of Mr. Romney.
Another cousin is George Romney, the former Governor of Michigan who ran for the Republican nomination for President in 1968. George Romney's son Mitt would later become governor of Massachusetts and run for president of the United States.
Mr. Romney's wife, the former Ida Jensen, whom he married in 1924, died on March 9, 1979 after suffering a stroke. He was survived by three sisters, Artemesia Ballif and Jasmine Edmunds, both of Provo, Utah, and Merlyn Walters of Salt Lake City; two sons, Richard J. Romney of Winters, Calif., and Gary J. Romney of Salt Lake City, eight grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. They had two children who died in infancy.
His funeral was held in the Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City.
Sources; "Marion G. Romney, 90, President Of the Mormon Council of Twelve", The New York Times, May 21, 1988; "Pres. Marion G. Romney, 90, Dies At His S.L. Home" , The Desert News, May 20, 1988
Information compiled by Contributor Starfishin (#48860385)
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