John Roger Lasater (December 8, 1931 - June 14, 2017) was a

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

who served as a deputy assistant secretary of defense for European and

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

policy, the principal director for European and North Atlantic Treaty Organization policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy, and as commander of the

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

's 4th Air Division at

Francis E. Warren Air Force Base Francis E. Warren Air Force Base , shortened as F.E. Warren AFB is a United States Air Force base (AFB) located approximately west of Cheyenne, Wyoming. It is one of three strategic-missile bases in the U.S. It was named in honor of Francis E ...

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

. After his retirement from the Air Force in 1983, Lasater served as a general authority of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) from 1987 to 1992.Grandpa Bill's G.A. Pages
/ref>

Background and education

Lasater was born in

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia * Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States *Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California *Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia * ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

. He grew up in the Ogden, Utah area, graduating from Weber County High School in Ogden, and attended

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

, Provo, Utah. He graduated from the

University of Omaha The University of Nebraska Omaha (Omaha or UNO) is a public research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded in 1908 by faculty from the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary as a private non-sectarian college, the university was originally kno ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in political science in 1966, and earned his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 1970. He completed Squadron Officer School in 1966 and graduated from the National War College,

Fort Lesley J. McNair Fort Lesley J. McNair is a United States Army post located on the tip of Greenleaf Point, the peninsula that lies at the confluence of the Potomac River and the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. To the peninsula's west is the Washington Cha ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, in 1974.

Military assignments

He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in March 1952 and received his commission as a second lieutenant through the Air Force Officers' Candidate School at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, in March 1957. His first operational flying assignment was in November 1958 with the 93rd Fighter-Interceptor Squadron at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. In July 1960 he joined the 751st Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron at Mount Laguna Air Force Station, Californian, where he remained until December 1961. Lasater began service in Southeast Asia in May 1967 where he flew RF-4C's with the 16th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Republic of Vietnam. While there he completed 221 combat missions, 100 over North Vietnam, and compiled 485 combat hours. Following his Vietnam service he served in Europe (Great Britain and West Germany) in both tactical reconnaissance and tactical fighter units. After graduation from the U.S. National War College in June 1974 he served as a special assistant for joint matters and chairman of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Initiatives and Action Group in the Directorate of Plans and Policy, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. While in this position, he also served, beginning in March 1975, as chief of the Europe/North Atlantic Treaty Organization Division within the directorate. In April 1976 General Lasater was assigned as executive assistant to the deputy commander in chief, U.S. European Command, Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany. From June 1978 to June 1979, he served as commander of the Strategic Air Command's 4th Air Division at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. In addition to the 90th Strategic Missile Wing at Warren, the division included the 44th Strategic Missile Wing; the 28th Bombardment Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota; and the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska. General Lasater returned to Washington, D.C., as the senior military adviser to the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency of the State Department. He was also the acting U.S. Commissioner to the 19th and 20th U.S. and Union of Soviet Socialists Republics Standing Consultative commissions.

Church service

General authority

In 1987, Lasater was called to serve as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. His assignments while a member of the Seventy included President of the North America Southeast

Area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...

and second counselor in the Europe Area Presidency.

Other church assignments

Prior to his retirement from the Air Force, Lasater served as a

stake president A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine h ...

over the Serviceman's Stake (Europe), effectively the spiritual leader of all American Latter-day Saint servicemen in Europe, all while serving as the executive assistant to the deputy commander in chief, U.S. European Command, in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. After serving in this capacity for some time, he was released in 1976 and was called as a Regional Representative of the Twelve, until being reassigned to the Pentagon by the U.S. Air Force. After retirement from the Air Force, Lasater became a

mission president Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A mission president presides over a geographic area known as a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission. Depending on ...

, presiding over the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

Death

On June 14, 2017, Lasater passed away in his home in North Ogden, Utah, from complications of exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War."John R. Lasater"
''

Standard-Examiner The ''Standard-Examiner'' is a daily morning newspaper published in Ogden, Utah, United States. With roughly 30,000 subscribers on Sunday and 25,000 daily, it is the third largest daily newspaper in terms of circulation in Utah, after ''The Sal ...

'', June 16, 2017.

Family

Lasater married the former Marilyn Jones of Samaria, Idaho. They are the parents of four daughters — Mary Lynn, Leslie Ann, Melanie, and Carolyn — and a son, Garth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lasater, John R. 1931 births 2017 deaths People from Farmington, Utah American general authorities (LDS Church) United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War American Mormon missionaries in New Zealand Brigham Young University alumni Members of the Second Quorum of the Seventy (LDS Church) Mission presidents (LDS Church) National War College alumni People from Ogden, Utah Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Regional representatives of the Twelve United States Air Force generals University of Southern California alumni 20th-century Mormon missionaries Recipients of the Air Medal Latter Day Saints from Utah