Six new mission presidents have been called by the First Presidency. The mission presidents and their wives will begin their service about July 1. Their assignments will be announced later. The new mission presidents are:
Dee F. Andersen, 63, Sunset Heights 2nd Ward, Orem Utah Sunset Heights Stake; high priests group instructor; former member of Young Men general board, stake president and counselor, bishop, and high priests group leader; retired administrative vice president at BYU; received bachelor's degree in accounting from Utah State University; born in Ogden, Utah, to Floyd Charles and Lola Rose Andersen; married Frances Alene Nicholas, seven children. She is stake Primary president; former stake Primary president, stake Relief Society president's counselor, Primary president and counselor, and Blazer teacher; attended Weber College; born in Ogden, Utah, to John Allen and Priscilla Stratford Nicholas.Larry B. Duke, 62, Heber 9th Ward, Heber City Utah East Stake; high priests group instructor and ward choir director; former stake president, high councilor, bishop, high priests group leader, and missionary with wife in the Zimbabwe Harare Mission and New Zealand Auckland Mission; dentist; received D.D.S. degree from Northwestern University Dental School; born in Heber City, Utah, to Seymour B. and Mary Ann Ludlow Duke; married Joan Kinsey, five children. She is ward and choir organist; former Primary president, Relief Society president's counselor, Primary teacher, Relief Society teacher, ward organist, and missionary with husband in Zimbabwe and New Zealand; attended BYU; born in Heber City, Utah, to James Floyd and Viola Giles Kinsey.
Brice L. Hedrick, 50, Murray 3rd Ward, Murray Utah Stake; bishop; former stake mission president, bishop's counselor, executive secretary, elders quorum president, Young Men president, and Sunday School president; owner of Hedrick & Associates Inc.; attended LDS Business College; born in Indianapolis, Ind., to Charles Lowell Sr. and Wilma Bernice Weaver Hedrick; married Susan Eileen Pickering, two children. She is stake Young Women president; former stake Relief Society homemaking leader, Primary president, Young Women president and adviser, Relief Society president's counselor, Young Women president's counselor and camp director, Sunday School and Primary teacher; attended Central Texas College; born in Indianapolis, Ind., to Edwin and Edna Louise Hartle Pickering.
Otto S. Shill Jr., 65, Lehi 2nd Ward, Mesa Arizona Lehi Stake; regional representative; former stake president and counselor, high councilor, bishop, Aaronic Priesthood general secretary, family history consultant, and Sunday School teacher; medical doctor; received bachelor's degree and doctor of veterinary medicine degree from Kansas State University, M.D. degree from the University of Utah; born in Mesa, Ariz., to Otto Stronach Sr. and Marguerite Webb Brown Shill; married Betty Louise Robbins, five children. She is a Sunday School teacher; former stake Relief Society president and counselor, stake Relief Society inservice leader, Relief Society homemaking counselor, Primary president's counselor, genealogical missionary, Sunday School teacher, Relief Society teacher, and Primary teacher; received nursing degree from St. Joseph's School of Nursing and attended Arizona State University; born in Mesa, Ariz., to Walter Arthur and Sophie Morris Robbins.
Johannes W. Vande Merwe, 64, Orchard 13th Ward, North Salt Lake Utah Stake; assistant high priests group leader; former high councilor, bishop's counselor, high priests group leader, elders quorum president, Sunday School president, missionary with wife in the Johannesburg South Africa Mission, missionary in the Eastern States Mission; general construction contractor; attended the University of Utah; born in Dordrecht, Netherlands, to Jan and Cornelia Lucia Wetter Vande Merwe; married Donna Moore, five children. She is Relief Society homemaking leader; former stake Relief Society president, Relief Society president, Young Women president, Primary teacher, Sunday School teacher, Relief Society teacher, Young Women teacher, and missionary with husband in South Africa; attended BYU; born in Springville, Utah, to Leon Elwood and Mildred Blackett Moore.
Robert M. Wilkes, 55, Rexburg 3rd Ward, Rexburg Idaho Stake; regional representative; former stake president and counselor, bishop, and missionary in the Central States Mission; faculty/division chairman at Ricks College; received bachelor's degree in history and master's degree in college administration, both from BYU; born in Afton, Wyo., to Murray Moffatt and Lucy Barrus Wilkes; married Estella Woodruff, six children. She is a Relief Society teacher; former stake Relief Society president's counselor, Young Women president's counselor, Relief Society homemaking leader and teacher, Primary teacher, and Young Women teacher; born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Manford Eugene and Norma Neff Petersen Woodruff.
