Vernon Bradford Romney (April 27, 1924 – July 13, 2013) was an American lawyer who served as the

attorney general of Utah The Attorney General of Utah is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the state government of Utah. The attorney general is the chief legal officer and legal adviser in the state. The office is elected, with a term of four y ...

from 1969 to 1977, and the Republican candidate for

Governor of Utah A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

. He was a member of the

Romney family The Romney family is prominent in U.S. politics.

and

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

Early life, military, and education

Romney was born to Vernon Romney (1896–1976) and Anna Lois Bradford (1900–1957) in Salt Lake City, Utah, the oldest of eight children. His father was an attorney and the chair of the Utah Republican party in 1944–50 and 1958–62. He is a first cousin of

George W. Romney George Wilcken Romney (July 8, 1907 – July 26, 1995) was an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as chairman and president of American Motors Corporation from 1954 to 1962, the 43rd gove ...

and a first cousin once removed to

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

. Romney graduated in 1941 from East High School. Romney served in

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

and

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has been ...

during World War II as an infantryman in the 96th Infantry Division as a radio operator and an assistant to a Methodist chaplain. He graduated with a BS in political science from the University of Utah and with a JD from George Washington University in 1953.

Legal and political career

Romney worked as an attorney for the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

and on the staff of Senator Arthur V. Watkins, both while in Washington, DC. He practiced law in Salt Lake City for fifteen years with the firms Romney and Nelson, and later Romney, Madsen, and Cummings. From 1955-1959 he was an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Utah. He was elected Attorney General of Utah in 1968, and was reelected to this position in 1972. He appeared before the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

in a case to obtain the mineral rights in the

Great Salt Lake The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. It lies in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah and has a substantial impact upon the local climate, partic ...

for the State of Utah, helped to improve airline service to the Salt Lake International Airport, increased consumer protection in the state of Utah, and was involved in efforts to reform federal

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a legal procedure invoking the jurisdiction of a court to review the unlawful detention or imprisonment of an individual, and request the individual's custodian (usually a prison official) to ...

laws. After a failed bid for Governor of Utah in 1976, Romney was the Highland, Utah City Attorney from 1977 to 1992.

Church service

Romney served a mission for

(LDS Church) to

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

and

Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls is a City (New York), city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagar ...

from 1948 to 1950. He later served missions with his wife Pat to

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...

, from 1997 to 1998, and

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

, from 2001 to 2002.

Family

Romney married Patricia (Pat) Pingree on December 29, 1951. In 1986, Pat was called as the national president of Lambda Delta Sigma, the LDS Church-sponsored sorority for college-age women. They are the parents to six children. They also have twenty-one grandchildren and, at the time of Romney's death, eleven great-grandchildren. He died on July 13, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah at the age of 89.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romney, Vernon B. 1924 births 2013 deaths Latter Day Saints from Utah United States Army personnel of World War II Candidates in the 1976 United States elections Vernon George Washington University Law School alumni University of Utah alumni Politicians from Salt Lake City Utah attorneys general Lawyers from Salt Lake City Utah Republicans American Mormon missionaries in the United States 20th-century Mormon missionaries 21st-century Mormon missionaries 20th-century Utah politicians