Mortensen, A. Russell (Arlington Russell), 1911-

Dividing his time between Utah and California, A. Russell Mortensen spent his early professional years as a teacher, administrator and editor. Born in Salt Lake City to Arlington Peter and Fannie Burnham Mortensen on January 30, 1911, he was raised in southern California. Mortensen returned to Utah in the early 1930s to attend Brigham Young University. While there he met and married Bessie Burch, a native of Spanish Fork, Utah. After receiving a B. S. in history in 1937 Mortensen became principal of the Garfield County Cannonville School for one year.

The Mortensens spent two years in California while he worked on a masters' degree, awarded in 1940 from the University of California at Los Angeles, before returning to Utah. For the next six years Mortensen was a history instructor at Provo High School. His teaching was interrupted during World War II when he served in the Pacific Theatre as a Naval Communications Officer.

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