Bishop Richard Crockett Edgley, 90, who served in the Presiding Bishopric of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for nearly two decades, died on Friday, March 27, 2026, in Centerville, Utah.
Bishop Edgley was sustained as second counselor in the Presiding Bishopric at the October 1992 general conference and later became the first counselor on Dec. 27, 1995, when the previous presiding bishop, Merrill J. Bateman, was called to serve as president of Brigham Young University.
Bishop Edgley served as second counselor to both Elder Robert D. Hales (1992-1994) and Elder Merrill J. Bateman (1994-1995). He then served as the first counselor to Presiding Bishop H. David Burton (1995-2012).
Bishop Edgley had been the managing director of the Church’s finance and records department and a vice president at General Mills. He also served on the boards of PacifiCorp, Utah Power, Deseret Mutual Benefit Association, Beneficial Life Insurance Co., Deseret Trust Co. and Bonneville Holding Co.
He was vice chairman of Proprietary Holding Inc. and served on Zions First National Bank’s trust policy committee.
Bishop Edgley was born on Feb. 6, 1936, in Preston, Idaho, to Phenoi and Ona Crockett Edgley. His family lived in downtown Preston, and much of his growing-up years revolved around sports and outdoor activities.
Bishop Edgley’s summers as a young man in Idaho often included farm activities like thinning beets, picking potatoes and hauling hay.
“Anyone who wanted work in Preston could find employment,” Bishop Edgley once told the Church News. “There was always plenty of work, and most people in the community did work. I always had the [family’s] dry cleaning plant to fall back on, but I didn’t particularly like the work so in the summer I would work outside.’’
He attended Brigham Young University on a football scholarship and while at BYU met his wife-to-be, Pauline Nielson. They married on Aug. 12, 1960, in the Salt Lake Temple and are the parents of six children.
He served in the Eastern States Mission in the late 1950s and received a bachelor’s degree in political science from BYU.
After receiving a Master of Business Administration from Indiana University, Bishop Edgley began a 19-year career with General Mills. The family lived in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Toronto, Ontario; and Lynnfield, Massachusetts. He rose to vice president of administration and control for consumer nonfoods operations.
During a meeting of General Mills executives one morning, Bishop Edgley received a phone call from then-Presiding Bishop Victor L. Brown, who asked Bishop Edgley to come to Salt Lake City for a discussion about heading the newly formed Church Records Department.
“I was so well locked in to General Mills, it was quite a shock when I told them I was leaving,” he once recalled.
He was responsible for Church finance and controllership functions, treasury services, risk management (insurance), tax reporting and membership and statistical records.
Bishop Edgley had also served as president of the Centerville Utah North Stake and previously served as a counselor in a stake presidency, high councilor, bishop and ward Young Men president.
In his October 2010 general conference message, he spoke about faith and choice.
“Faith is a choice, and it must be sought after and developed. Thus, we are responsible for our own faith,” he said. “We are also responsible for our lack of faith. The choice is yours.”
Bishop Edgley is survived by his wife, Pauline, and their daughters Stacey (Monte Fiala), Vickie Edgley, Christine (Ron Baird), Melanie (Tim Doane), and sons Steven (Jennilyn) and Mark (Katie); 20 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, his sister Kathy Fellows (Stan), and his in-laws Darlene Hurst, and Leon and Laraine Nielson.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Ona and Phenoi Edgley, his sisters and their respective spouses Grant and Lenona Hawkes, Stanton and Evelyn Nuffer, and Ben and Marcia Packer, his grandchildren David Heiner, Eliza Edgley, and his sons-in-law Steven Horne and Jeffrey Hansen.
Funeral service will be at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, April 6, 2026, at the Centerville North Stake Center, 1461 N. Main, Centerville, Utah. A viewing will be held Friday, April 3, 2026, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Russon Brothers Mortuary, 295 N. Main, Bountiful, Utah, and Monday morning from 8:30-9:30 a.m. at the meetinghouse prior to the funeral. Bishop Edgley’s interment will take place in Preston, Idaho.
