Robert W. Barker, president of the Washington Temple since 1985, died of a heart attack Dec. 31 while visiting Southern California.
Pres. Barker, 68, a prominent attorney, was deputy general counsel and chairman of the law committee for both the Reagan and Nixon presidential inaugurals. He was a former regional representative and counselor in the Washington D.C. Stake presidency and a bishop.The senior partner in the Washington, D.C. law firm of Wilkinson, Barker, Knauer & Quinn, he was senior vice president, general counsel and a director of Bonneville International Corp. He also represented Indian tribes in legal claims.
Pres. Barker's wife, Amy Vera Thomas Barker, was the temple matron. They were parents of five sons and a daughter. Funeral services were Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C.
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Kenneth Norman Gardner, 68, a former mission president, died Jan. 4, in Madras, India, of a heart attack. He and his wife, Wilma Workman Gardner, were serving as Church representatives in the Singapore Mission.
He was president of the Hawaii Mission from 1969-72, and a former bishop. He was in the electrical wholesale supply business and operated a chain of outlets in Utah. He and his wife, parents of five children, were members of the Monument Park 15th Ward in Salt Lake City. Funeral services will be held Jan. 11.