Six new temple presidents and their wives have been called by the First Presidency. They will begin their service later this year.
Dennis Earl Cook, 73, Fairbanks 3rd Ward, Fairbanks Alaska Stake, called as president of the Anchorage Alaska Temple, succeeding President Melvin R. Perkins. President Cook's wife, Beatrice Olga Blair Cook, will serve as temple matron. He serves as a sealer in the Anchorage Alaska Temple and as a patriarch. He has served as a stake president, district president, bishop and branch president. A semi-retired attorney, he was born in Fairbanks, Alaska, to Earl E. and Emma Martha Pope Cook.
Sister Cook serves as a temple ordinance worker in the Anchorage Alaska Temple and as a stake music chairman. She has served as a counselor in a stake Relief Society and Young Women presidency, ward Relief Society president and in a ward Primary presidency. She was born in Boise, Idaho, to Ray F. and Mary Amelia Blair.
Steven Allan Hedquist, 73, Ann Arbor 2nd Ward, Ann Arbor Michigan Stake, called as president of the Detroit Michigan Temple, succeeding President Phillip G. Pulsipher. President Hedquist's wife, Elizabeth Ann Gammell Hedquist, will serve as temple matron. He serves as a sealer in the Detroit Michigan Temple and as a gospel doctrine teacher. He has served as a stake president, patriarch, welfare regional chairman and branch president. Retired as assistant area administrator with the Church Educational System, he was born in Provo, Utah, to Ralph Alexander and Helen Beck Hedquist.
Sister Hedquist serves as a temple ordinance worker in the Detroit Michigan Temple and in a ward Relief Society presidency. She has served as a stake Primary president's counselor, stake music chairman and ward choir director. She was born in Reading, Berkshire, England, to Raymond William and Evelyn Alice Josey Gammell.
Brad Rolla Hobbs, 63, Twin Falls 15th Ward, Twin Falls Idaho Stake, called as president of the Twin Falls Idaho Temple, succeeding President Karl E. Nelson. President Hobbs' wife, Sandra Kay Petty Hobbs, will serve as temple matron. He serves as a temple ordinance worker in the Twin Falls Idaho Temple, high priests group instructor and Sunday School teacher. He has served as president of the North Carolina Charlotte Mission, stake president, bishop, high councilor and stake mission president. He is a retired ophthalmologist. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Frayne Reginald and Shirley Hobbs.
Sister Hobbs serves as a temple preparation teacher. She served with her husband as he presided over the North Carolina Charlotte Mission. She has served in a ward Relief Society presidency, ward Young Women presidency, as a Relief Society teacher and temple ordinance worker. She was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Wendell and Margaret Petty.
Douglas Vaughn Nelson, 65, Rockford 2nd Ward, Rockford Illinois Stake, called as president of the Chicago Illinois Temple, succeeding President Paul W. Castleton. President Nelson's wife, Mary Fleetwood Nelson, will serve as temple matron. He serves as first counselor in the Chicago Illinois Temple presidency. He has served as a stake president, bishop and high councilor. He retired as vice president of operations, Phelps Industries, LLC. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Woodrow Ensign and Lucy Ann Vaughn Nelson.
Sister Nelson serves as an assistant to the matron in the Chicago Illinois Temple. She has served as a stake Relief Society secretary, counselor in a ward Relief Society presidency and as a ward Young Women president. She was born in Drury, Mo., to Earnest Augusto and Mary Malinda Josephine Hicks Hitchcock Fleetwood.
William Austin Tilton, 73, Olympia Ward, Orlando Florida South Stake, called as president of the Orlando Florida Temple, succeeding President David T. Halversen. President Tilton's wife, Connie Zane Forsyth Tilton, will serve as temple matron. He serves as first counselor in the Orlando Florida Temple presidency. He has served as a stake president, bishop, welfare regional chairman and high councilor. A retired farmer, he was born in Palatka, Fla., to Samuel Johnson and Florence Inez Whitaker Tilton.
Sister Tilton serves as an assistant to the matron in the Orlando Florida Temple. She has served as ward Relief Society president, ward Young Women president and seminary teacher. She was born in Jacksonville, Fla., to Dozier Paul and Bertha Solana Guthrie Forsyth.
Frank Vernon Trythall, 65, Granite Bay 2nd Ward, Rocklin California Stake, called as president of the Kyiv Ukraine Temple, succeeding President B. John Galbraith. President Trythall's wife, Nancy Lou Winkel Trythall, will serve as temple matron. Recently released as an Area Seventy, he has served as president of the Ukraine Kyiv Mission, regional representative, stake president, bishop and high councilor. A partner with Gallina, LLP, he was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Francis Turner and Inez Trythall.
Sister Trythall serves as a ward Sunday School teacher and as a volunteer in the Sacramento California Temple. She served with her husband as he presided over the Ukraine Kyiv Mission. She has served as a stake Relief Society president's counselor and as a ward Relief Society, Young Women and Primary president. She was born in Oakland, Calif., to Francis Benjamin and Rose Blanche Thompson Winkel.
