Robert Dale Crockett

prefer that we just write “Bob finally croaked”, but we have decided otherwise.

Bob was born on November 29, 1954 in Boulder, Colorado to Robert and Janet Crockett (Romney).

Robert's work in the military flying planes and in the Utah Attorney General's office took the family to

McAllen, Texas, Germany, and ultimately Salt Lake City. Bob's father died from an aneurysm when Bob

was 6 years old. Bob missed his daddy and often wondered what it would have been like to have a father

around as a young boy. Janet had a strong personality, and Bob developed a unique bond with her.

Joseph B. Wirthlin, Jr. served as his Bishop during these difficult years and Bob recounted later in life that

Bishop Wirthlin helped his mother immensely.

In 1966 Janet married Roger Call, who became Bob's devoted Dad. Dad taught Bob to ski when he was

15, a sport Bob adored the rest of his life, despite breaking his leg on his first day on the slopes. Dad

finished his PHD and moved the family to Federal Way, Washington. Bob had a rebellious period and at

age 17 he was sent to cool off in El Paso, Texas with his grandparents. Bob loved his time in El Paso and

over the border visiting Juarez, Mexico. One year later Bob decided he had enough of living with his

grandparents and he showed up unannounced in Salt Lake City to see his mother who was in town. She

reconciled with Bob and they returned to Federal Way.

In 1973 Bob enrolled at Brigham Young University. Bob served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of

Latter-Day Saints to Chicago, Illinois from 1974 to 1976. His mission changed his life. It was there that he

learned to work hard. Many of those with whom he associated in Chicago still remember his service

decades later.

Bob returned to BYU and obtained a degree in economics with a minor in computer science. During a

short break in El Paso, he met Debbie Townsend, the love of his life. They were married in the Salt Lake

Temple on July 15, 1977. After a brief job working for Boeing in Seattle after graduating, Bob returned to

BYU for law school and graduated near the top of his class.

In 1980 Bob was hired as a summer law clerk at the Los Angeles office of the law firm Latham & Watkins,

despite arriving 10 minutes late to the interview because he thought he had canceled. He accepted a full

time offer at the end of the summer and moved his family to the Santa Clarita valley, a suburb of Los

Angeles. In November 1989 he was elected as a partner. He worked at Latham for over 32 years. He

made many lifelong friends at the firm. Though he was demanding, many young associates loved

working for Bob because he gave them extensive courtroom and deposition experience, usually not

possible for young attorneys at a large firm. After Bob retired from Latham in 2014, he opened his own

firm, Crockett & Associates. He was happy to continue to practice and there he made more friends and

continued to mentor younger attorneys.

Bob achieved wonderful success as a trial lawyer and he loved the work. He was fierce. His specialty was

jury trials. Clients and other lawyers often came to him in desperation as a case approached trial, asking

him to take over. He did so time and time again with confidence. He was skilled at cross examination, and

he loved the thrill of courtroom combat. He worked hard for his clients and won numerous victories for

them. His tactics can be summed up in a recent direction to his associates: “Be polite but fearless",

though he was selective in his own application of “polite”.

Bob and Debbie had 11 children, all raised in the Santa Clarita valley. They were always his pride and joy.

Although being a partner at an international law firm was demanding, Bob always found time to be with

his children as they grew. His journals are filled with glowing reports of his children and his hopes and

worries for them.

Bob was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout his life. He

impacted countless lives through his church service. He spent most of his time working with the youth as

a young men's leader and seminary teacher. He took the young men on numerous trips. He once avoided

disaster when a youth on a snowmobile was not located until late into the night. Bob always reflected

fondly on his time as Bishop of the Newhall 2nd Ward. He was also an avid gospel scholar. His personal

library was lined with books on any gospel topic. He engaged in many discussions and debates regarding

church history and doctrine.

Bob was dedicated to family history. He kept a detailed journal, filled with his witticisms, snark, and

humor. He left a priceless gift to his family, a 737 page personal and family history uploaded to a Google

Drive account. He speaks to us now through his detailed accounts.

Bob loved to run and bike. He ran many marathons, his favorite the St. George marathon. In 2010 he

qualified for and ran the Boston marathon. He also ran ultra-marathons with his dear brother Davy,

finishing four 100 milers. One of his proudest achievements was running the Grand Canyon rim, to rim,

to rim with Davy. Bob’s running showcased his iron will, often manifested as stubbornness. Once he

committed to something, nothing could stop him.

Bob was an avid outdoorsman. He spent time teaching his kids skiing or snowboarding. He took his boys

on numerous backpacking trips in the Sierra Nevadas, Southern Utah, and the Uinta mountains. In 2000

he achieved his dream of summiting Mt. Rainier in his beloved Washington.

Bob was always generous and charitable, usually with little notice or fanfare. As a family, we will never

truly know the vast scope of his generosity. Those who he helped will always honor and remember him.

He was supremely intelligent. He read voraciously and was conversant on all topics. He also had a

fantastic sense of humor. He told dad jokes before they were called dad jokes. He took special pride in

repeating the same lame jokes for decades. For as long as any of us can remember, he pretended to

sever his thumb with a terrible magic trick. His kids and grandkids will repeat his jokes for years in his

memory.

Bob moved with ease into his role as a doting grandfather—his first grandson was born only a few years

after his last son Will. Bob adored all his grandchildren, often kidding that he loved his grandchildren

more than his children. He had endless patience for all of them. And they all loved him immensely in

return.

Bob was larger than life. His premature departure leaves a gaping void in our lives.

The family will hold a small, private graveside service. A gathering to celebrate his life will be announced

soon.

Bob is survived by his wife Debora; his children Lindsay Severts (Ryan), Rob (Whitney), Sean, Carly

Bingham (Casey), Scott (Connie), Kelli Lindahl (Kirk), Cindy, Tadd, Nate, Owen, and Will; his siblings Karen (Greg), Davy (Linda), Beth Ball (Dave), Lisa Humphries (Michael), Brian Call (Carolyn), Laura Johnson (Ed), and Michelle Hatfield (John); and his 24 adoring grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his father Robert Crockett, his mother Janet, and his step-father Roger Call.