Whetten, Lester B. (Lester Benjamin), 1904-1988

Lester Benjamin Whetten (1904-1988), PhD, was the dean of the General College at Brigham Young University. He also served as president of the Mexico Mission.

Lester Benjamin Whetten was born 23 June 1904 in Colonia Garcia, Chihuahua, Mexico. He graduated high school from the Juarez Stake Academy in 1926. He received his bachelor's and master's in animal husbandry from Brigham Young University in 1932 and 1934 respectively. He was a graduate fellow at the University of Chicago from 1934-1937 and earned his doctorate. He began his teaching as a professor at Mesa Junior College in Grand Junction, Colorado. Aside from teaching, Whetten had a ranch and farm there and loved to farm and raise animals on his four acres. He also served as the branch president. In 1947 he was called to organize a Western Colorado stake. His family leftGrand Junction in 1952 for Snow College, where he served as president for three years. He left Snow in 1956 to become the director of public relations at Brigham Young Univeristy. He stayed at BYU and served as the dean of General College from 1965-1972. He also served as an associate professor of religious instruction. While at BYU he also developed an American Indian Education program. In 1973 he was called to serve as the mission president of the Mexico Mission. He would also later be called to serve as a regional representative in Central America and then in Portugal and and Spain, where he established the first stakes there.

He married Kate Allred in 1930 and they had four children. Whetten died 2 December 1988.

From the guide to the Oral history interview with Lester Whetten, 1983, (L. Tom Perry Special Collections)