Max LaVoy Robison, age 89, passed away peacefully at Sagewood Assisted Living in South Jordan, Utah, on March 23, 2025. LaVoy was born on September 6, 1935 in Delta, Utah to Max Joseph and Evelyn Western Robison. The oldest of three children, LaVoy epitomized the values of hard work, frugality, and consecration.
As his parents settled in Delta, LaVoy was blessed by his mother’s re-engagement with church activity. LaVoy’s father took time from his 80-hour work week distributing oil and gas to take the family on fishing trips. As a youth, LaVoy worked odd jobs for farmers who valued his dependability and handiness with tools. He participated in Boy Scouts and attended the 1950 National Jamboree at Valley Forge. At Delta High School he played football, basketball, and trumpet in the band. But what LaVoy prized most from his boyhood was the annual memory-making deer hunt with his father, his uncles, and cousins.
After high school graduation in 1953, he attended BYU before serving as a Latter-day Saint missionary in the New England Mission in 1955. LaVoy’s faithful mission service inspired his father to qualify for temple blessings, and his parents and siblings were sealed during his mission.
Returning to BYU after his mission, LaVoy studied accounting and joined the Air National Guard. In 1958 he began courting Karen Wright. They were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on September 14, 1959 by Elder Richard L. Evans.
Following LaVoy and Karen’s graduation from BYU in 1960, he joined the San Francisco office of Peat Marwick, an accounting firm. While living in a small apartment in Oakland, Karen gave birth to Melisa “Lisa”, Margo, and Janette “Jan”. In 1965, LaVoy welcomed a four-year assignment with his firm’s office in Schenectady, New York, to be the independent auditor for General Electric. There, the family enjoyed the blessings of a close-knit congregation and welcomed Douglas “Doug” into the family.
In 1969, LaVoy took a position in his firm’s Denver office and the family moved to Colorado. Before long, Nancy and Lynnette joined the family. Bursting at the seams of their small home, LaVoy contracted with a trusted friend to build a comfortable custom home in what is now Greenwood Village. This would be the Robison family home for 42 years. In 2019, LaVoy and Karen moved to South Jordan, Utah, to be closer to children and care.
LaVoy’s pride and joy came from providing for his children’s education, their multifaceted extracurricular pursuits, and their spiritual formation. In Colorado, the family solidified family traditions of over-the-top Christmas celebrations, annual trips to Devils Head and Lake Powell, and frequent retreats to the family’s timeshare condo in Vail. LaVoy supported the college education of his children, all of whom graduated from BYU.
As the family grew, so did LaVoy’s professional reputation for integrity and discretion. In 1991, Gov. Roy Romer asked LaVoy to spearhead the inaugural Colorado Limited Gaming Control Commission. A partner at KPMG, major corporations in the Denver Area, including the Anschutz Corporation and TCI, relied on his services until his formal retirement in 1996.
In some ways, LaVoy’s retirement marked the start of his most consequential work. In “retirement”, the Church Educational System asked LaVoy to support their internal audits, and the “Cable Cowboy” John Malone asked him to serve on his corporate boards, including for Discovery Communications and Liberty Media. Most meaningfully, Denver-based entrepreneur Phil Anschutz recruited LaVoy to shape the strategy for the Anschutz Foundation. As a result LaVoy became the founding executive director of the Foundation for a Better Life, recognized internationally for its “Pass It On” campaign to promote universal values.
As a grandfather, LaVoy gathered his children and grandchildren to weeklong reunions at BYU’s Aspen Grove to forge bonds through recreational activities and to hear his testimony of the Restored Gospel. He also contributed generously to the support of his grandchildren’s higher education.
As a lifelong Latter-day Saint, LaVoy served faithfully in numerous callings, including as Bishop. His patriarchal blessing promised that thousands would hear his testimony of gospel principles “not only in the valleys of the mountains, but to the nations of the earth.” Through his resolute commitment to nurture consecration in his posterity, through his church service, and through his contributions to PassItOn.com, that promise has been fulfilled.
He is survived by his children: Melisa Chadwick (George), Margo Edwards (Paul), Janette Leifson (Hal), Douglas (Suzanne), and Nancy Robison; son-in-law: Kevin Fisher; siblings: Janeen Gardner and Stanley Robison; 29 grandchildren; and 20 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents: Max and Evelyn; his wife: Karen; and daughter: Lynnette Fisher.
Funeral Services were held on Friday, April 4, at 12:00 am, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building, 290 East 500 South, Fillmore, Utah. A Viewing began at 11:00 am. Those unable to attend are invited to view the recorded video of the service. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider a generous donation to your local food bank. Generosity and Integrity: Pass It On.