Obituary of David Rodgers Margetts

David Rogers Margetts of Provo, Utah, was born on December 3, 1925, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Harold Austin Margetts and Agnes Rogers Margetts. He had one sister, Marie Rogers Delgado, who preceded him in death. David attended East High and the University of Utah, both in Salt Lake City. In 1943 David joined the U. S. Naval Reserve. He served on-board the destroyer escort USS Wilhoit as an electronic technician’s mate, first class. He saw both the Atlantic and Pacific, passing twice through the Panama Canal. After the war, and released on points, David returned to Salt Lake and the University of Utah. There he majored in physics, graduating in 1946. He moved to Southern California to work in the aerospace industry at Helipot Corporation, Beckman Instruments, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory. At JPL he began as an engineer in the Instrumentation Section. This led to a position as Research Group Supervisor in special missile instrumentation. He participated in the first series of U.S. earth orbiting satellite instrumentation and the Ranger program. David had begun lessons in violin when he was 12 years old and studied and continued to perform throughout his years in the aerospace industry. In 1965, he decided to pursue his true love--violin performance. While at JPL, he registered at California State College, Los Angeles, taking night classes for his Bachelor and Master of Arts in music. In 1970, he terminated with JPL and began studying for his doctorate at the University Southern California full time. During this time, he worked with several community orchestras and part-time at Chapman College in Orange County. He worked in films and television, primarily at Universal Studios and Paramount Studios. The Civic Light Opera enabled him to study for his doctoral exams at night. David graduated with a Doctor of Musical Arts in violin in the spring of 1979. A full-time offer to teach violin came in the summer of 1981, from California State University, at Fresno. On August 10, 1981 David was sealed in the Salt Lake Temple to Christie Lee Slater (Clawson). They made their home in Fresno, California, where David was employed at the California State University, Fresno. Together, they raised Christie's three young sons from her previous marriage: Scott Andrew (Megan) and Kevin Slater, of Provo; Brian Slater (Lynton), of Cazenovia, New York. David retired from CSU Fresno in 2001, but continued to teach privately in his home. In 2006, David and Christie returned to Utah to be near family. From January 2009 until April 2012, David worked as an adjunct faculty member at the Utah Valley University. During his time at UVU he received recognition as the oldest faculty member at the university. David was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and Christie served for 20 years in three temples. A graveside service will be held Tuesday, June 6, at the Heber City Cemetery, 680 N 550 E, Heber City. A memorial open house will be held Saturday, June 24, at the Margetts’ residence, from 10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.