Ronald E. Poelman
Ronald E. Poelman was a General Authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, sometimes erroneously nicknamed the Mormon Church for many years, serving in several positions.
Elder Poelman was born on May 10, 1928, in Salt Lake City, the eldest of six children of Hendrik Poelman and Ella May Perkins Poelman. He graduated from East High in 1945. He received a bachelor of science in history from the University of Utah in 1953 and his juris doctorate from the University of Utah in 1955. In 1965 he graduated from the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration's Advanced Management Program. Elder Poelman served a full-time mission for the Church in the Netherlands from 1947 to 1949. He was a member of the Utah Bar Association.
Elder Poelman entered the business field in 1955 as a salesman for Consolidated Freightways in San Francisco. He spent 26 years with Consolidated, being promoted to assistant to the vice president and then director of commerce before becoming a vice president. At the time he was called to the First Quorum of the Seventy of the Church of Jesus Christ, he was vice president, corporate secretary and a director of the company. He gave up his professional duties to serve in the Church.
Poelman was called to the Seventy in April 1978. He was first counselor in the Sunday School general presidency from October 1979 to July 1981 and second counselor from August 1992 onward. He was in the Presidency of the Seventy from October 1986 through October 1989. He also was a counselor in the North America Southeast, North America Southwest, North America Central and Utah South area presidencies. He received emeritus status at the October 1998 general conference.
Other church assignments included managing director in the Family History Department, chairman and chief executive officer of the Development Board, chairman of the Deseret Trust Co. board of directors and director of the Deseret Gym.
Poelman married Clair Howell Stoddard on March 30, 1950. They were the parents of three daughters and a son. Clair died on May 5, 1979. He married Dr. Anne G. Osborn on June 29, 1982.
Elder Poelman died on November 19, 2011, at his home in Salt Lake City of causes incident to age. He was 83.
