Burtis Robbins

Burtis “Bud” France Robbins Jr. was a beloved husband, father, horseman, builder, and faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Born on September 24, 1931, he passed peacefully at home surrounded by his family on March 12, 2026, at the age of 94. Bud lived with quiet faith, steady devotion to family, a ready sense of humor, and a lifelong love for horses, mountains, and the simple adventures of everyday life. When asked how he was doing, he would almost always reply, “Better than I deserve,” a phrase that reflected his deep gratitude for the life he had been given.

Raised as the only boy among four accomplished sisters, Bud spent his school years in the city but his heart remained on the family farm in East Millcreek. There he roamed the fields, explored the foothills, and spent countless hours riding his beloved horse Bird. Horses taught him both joy and humility, from his vivid childhood memory of watching a striking pinto gallop past him at age three to youthful misadventures that included being thrown by a startled mustang and a short-lived attempt to break horses for money with his friend Don Swenson. His gentle loyalty was evident early as he cared for his mother through her long illness, always speaking of her with tenderness and admiration.

Bud served a three-year mission in Japan from 1951 to 1953, where he mastered a difficult language and gained lasting confidence through persistence and faith. Shortly after returning, he met Jayne Cleone Weggeland. They were married on November 11, 1954, in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. That same year he was drafted into the United States Army and stationed in Salzburg, Austria, where Jayne joined him as newlyweds. Later in life they served together as missionaries in the Cherry Hill, New Jersey Mission, a cherished experience.

Together Bud and Jayne raised their children in a home centered on faith, loyalty, humor, and hard work. He built a home next to his parents on the beloved Millcreek ground and later purchased a farm in Indianola, Utah, where the family spent weekends and summers cutting hay, branding cattle, mending fences, and learning self-reliance through doing. A skilled builder by trade, Bud was known for his honesty, craftsmanship, and creative problem-solving. The pinnacle of his career came when he served as lead superintendent for the construction of the Oklahoma City Temple, a sacred project he undertook with Jayne by his side.

In retirement, at Jayne’s encouragement, Bud wrote one story each week for three years, completing 140 heartfelt accounts of his adventures, lessons, and quiet miracles. He titled the collection “I Never Would Have Believed It If I Hadn’t Seen It Myself,” words that captured both his remarkable life and his sincere, humble voice. He is remembered with love by the family who was blessed to share in that life.