DAVID B. HAIGHT / 1906-2004

Mormon leader
guided BYU-Hawaii

SALT LAKE CITY >> David B. Haight, the eldest member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has died. He was 97.

The former mayor of Palo Alto, Calif., died at 4:15 a.m. Saturday of "causes incident to age," the church said. Along with apostle Neal Maxwell, Haight was the second member of the Twelve -- which is part of the church's top leadership -- to die in 10 days.

Haight served as Palo Alto mayor from 1959 to 1963. He resigned the position to serve as president of a Mormon mission in Scotland. He was named to the Twelve in 1976 at age 69.

He worked as an executive with the ZCMI department store in Salt Lake City and was the regional manager for Montgomery Ward and Co. He also served as a commander in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

As a member of the boards of trustees of Brigham Young University, BYU-Hawaii, BYU-Idaho and LDS Business College, Haight also served as director of Bonneville International Corp., First Security Bank, Huntsman Chemical Corp. and Deseret Management Corp.

For years he oversaw the church's global missionary effort, and had long been a member of the church's Public Affairs Board, helping the church in its outreach to other faiths.

"We deeply regret the passing of our beloved friend and associate," said the church's First Presidency. "He has stirred the hearts of people across the earth with his declaration of faith and his testimony of the living reality of the Lord Jesus Christ."

He was born Sept. 2, 1906, in Oakley, Idaho. He married Ruby Olson in 1930. She survives him, as do their three children, 18 grandchildren and more than 70 great-grandchildren.