Remembering Elder Robert D. Hales

(1932–2017)

Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles passed away on October 1, 2017. He was 85 years old.

Elder Hales was born on August 24, 1932, in New York City. Robert liked playing with his older brother and sister in their backyard on Long Island, New York. His favorite sport was baseball, and he played on his high school and college baseball teams.

Robert learned how to serve from his parents. When his mother was Relief Society president, Robert helped her deliver food to those in need. He helped his dad take care of the sacrament trays and cloths. Their family helped keep the outside of the church building clean.

After high school, Robert studied business at college and came home for the summers. One summer he met Mary Crandall. For the next two months, they spent every evening together helping each other do chores and sharing family activities. They were married in 1953 in the Salt Lake Temple and had two children.

After graduating from college, Robert served as a jet fighter pilot for the United States Air Force. He got a master’s degree in business from Harvard University and then worked for large international companies. He and his family lived in England, Germany, Spain, and different parts of the United States. Wherever he went, he tried to be an example of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Elder Hales served as president of the England London Mission and in many other callings before he was called as an Apostle in 1994. He said, “Live your life to be a good example of what you believe—in word and deed.”* Like Elder Hales, each of us can be a good example wherever we live!

• “Preserving Agency, Protecting Religious Freedom,” Ensign, May 2015, 113.