Robert Lowell "Bob" Breitling Obituary (1928 - 2019)

Our beloved Husband, Father, Grandfather and Friend, passed away unexpectedly in his favorite place, Mt. Air Community, located in Parley’s Canyon on Wednesday, July 10, 2019. He was born on August 2, 1928 to Wilhelm Friedrich Breitling and Edna Elizabeth Liechty. Robert was loved and cared for by both his parents and step mother Mathilde Seiter. He was raised on their family farm in Salt Lake County. He married his sweetheart, Donna Mae Rose, on August 5, 1950. They were later sealed in the Salt Lake Temple and have enjoyed sixty-nine years of marriage. They built their first home in Murray, Utah, raising their five children, establishing lifelong friendships over the forty-five years of living there. They built their second home and moved to Draper, Utah in 1996, developing treasured friendships over the past twenty-three years. Bob loved to build and create. He established a successful career in the construction industry, which he enjoyed his entire life. As an excavating contractor, his business started first with Breitling and Law Construction, then Breitling Brothers Construction & BBC Sand and Gravel. For the last thirty-two years he partnered with his son, Don, as All-Star Construction. He was an early investor/partner in Bullfrog International, “Bullfrog Spas”. Throughout his career he made significant contributions to major developments. Breitling Bros. Construction Company, based in the Salt Lake Valley, became one of the largest trucking and excavation companies with three gravel pits and around 100 employees. Some of their large developments included Fashion Place Mall, Little America Hotel, Wendover Stateline Hotel, Cottonwood Mall, Brickyard Plaza, South Towne Mall, Trolley Square, and the expansion of the Salt Lake International Airport, University of Utah and BYU. Excavation sites included an oil refinery in North Salt Lake. Also, wastewater and treatment plants in Duchenne, Utah and surrounding Western States. He enjoyed snowmobiling, boating, horseback riding, and supporting his children and grandchildren, attending their plays, recitals and sports activities. He loved the outdoors and especially the mountains. At age twenty-two, he was hired to excavate and help develop the upper canyon of Mt. Air, known as Panorama. Bob found his paradise on earth and was devoted to the betterment of the entire canyon community. He was a visionary and enjoyed creating wherever he went, but nothing surpassed his love of family and working in the Mt. Air community. He built a large gathering place to share with family, friends and the community, which eventually included a summer home with the capacity to accommodate his growing posterity. Service was a hallmark of his life. He has served on the boards of the Mt. Air and Panorama community for 56 years and as an officer of Sons of Pioneers for 15 years. For several years he served as President of the West Crescent Irrigation Company. Bob was devoted to America and his countrymen and served in the Army Reserve. He enjoyed working with his hands in his hobby shop while building fun and useful things for family and friends. His greatest joy was serving others. It was common to see him helping those stranded on the roadside. He was on a daily quest to lift the burdens of others. He was active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints his whole life and served in nearly every ward organization, including a bishopric. He also served in many stake callings. He is survived by his wife, Donna, and their total posterity of 83. This includes five children, R. Michael (Dianne) Breitling, Rosanne (Klint) Day, Donald W. (Ruth) Breitling, Barbara (Mark) Wilson, Steven L. Breitling, 27 grandchildren with their spouses, 45 great-grandchildren with 1 on the way, and 1 great-great grandchild. He has 1 surviving sibling, Margie (Terry, deceased) Stanley, special brother and sister D. Wayne (Joy, deceased) Rose, W. Eugene and Evelyn Gibbons, and many special friends including Susan Adair and Rick Duggar. He was preceded in death by his parents, step mother, and 5 siblings: Gertrude (Fred) Law, Harold Breitling, Marilyn Brown, Lorna (Jack) Malmborg, Julia (Fred) Walters and one grandchild, Carolyn. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, July 17, 2019 at 11:00 am at the River View 2nd Ward, 12101 South 700 West, Draper, Utah. Viewings will be Tuesday, July 16, 2019 from 5:00–8:00 pm at Jenkins-Soffe South Valley, 1007 W. South Jordan Parkway (10600 S), South Jordan, Utah and on Wednesday from 9:30-10:30 am at the church. Interment at Redwood Memorial Estates. In lieu of flowers you may want to contribute to the Humanitarian Aid Fund of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or to your favorite charity.