Lt. Col. Reece Bee Robertson

Reece B. Robertson passed away on January 29, 2009 at the Veteran's Administration Medical Center 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 December 1946 in the Salt Lake LDS Temple, and from this union was born their daughter Deborah Jo.

Reece earned a law degree from the University 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 on Saturday, February 7, 2009 at the Brighton 7th Ward Chapel located at 2925 East Bengal Boulevard in Sandy at 11:00 a.m., with a viewing commencing one hour before the services.
Interment with Full Military Honors accorded will be at the Salt Lake City Cemetery following the Funeral.
Published in the Deseret News from 2/1/2009 - 2/4/2009.