Wesley's Last Chapter & Vennetta's Long Independence
In 1959, the family relocated to Holladay, Utah, at 3565 Fleetwood Drive. The move placed them back in Salt Lake City during Wes's division-level responsibilities. In the early 1960s they also lived at 637 East 12th Avenue before settling at 925 East 1300 South.
During the 1960s, his work shifted gradually. He moved away from day-to-day store management and toward investment and advisory roles. By 1965, he is listed as an investor in Delger Corporation. Later directory listings associate him with Bonneville Securities. Retail store management was giving way to financial interests and investment work.
The type of work changed, but he stayed involved and busy.
By this time, his health had begun to decline. His bout with rheumatic fever in the late 1920s had damaged his heart valves. He underwent heart valve surgery at University Hospital, a major operation for its time. He survived the procedure, but he never fully regained strong health.
He continued selling stocks and bonds for as long as he could. Sitting idle was never Wes.
Over the decades, a consistent pattern is clear. He enlisted in the Marine Corps at eighteen. He worked on the road for Dun & Bradstreet. He entered the radio business when it was still new and uncertain. He built Robbins Radio & Supply Company with Vennetta listed as Secretary-Treasurer. He managed Glen Bros Music through the Depression. He led the American Legion in Ogden during World War II and served as Vice-Chairman of the Red Cross. He chaired civic events, sat on the Selective Service Board, and promoted community efforts. He attempted independent ownership in Montana, returned to structured management, and eventually moved into investment work. The details change, but the pattern remains: work, risk, leadership, and movement.
By the early 1970s, his public roles had largely ended. The heart condition eventually overtook him. Wesley Robbins died November 21st, 1973, of a heart ailment. He was buried at Salt Lake City Cemetery at the age of 73.
Vennetta Spencer Robbins lived eighteen years beyond her husband. After 1973, there are few newspaper mentions. She was still living her life. After Wes's death, she moved several times:
The addresses show the progression clearly. Many years of independence. Then gradual transition. Nothing dramatic, just aging.
At age ninety-two, she wrote a condensed version of her and Wes's life history. Her writing is direct and chronological. She moves through memory the same way she moved through life — steadily. She marks time by addresses, births, illnesses, moves, and work. She records who was sick, who visited, who married, and who helped.
She remembered putting Bud to bed and then working nights in the sweet shop. She remembered selling pianos and watching customers fall in love with the instruments they could barely afford. She remembered Montana winters, illness, and leaving success behind because health mattered more. She remembered working beside Wes, not as an assistant, but as a partner who kept the books, handled sales, and stepped in when employees left.
She did not embellish or analyze. She recorded.
Without her writing, much of this would be only directory entries and job titles.
If Wesley's life in the 1940s appears prominently in newspapers, Vennetta's later contribution is different. Her writing fills in the years that newspapers do not cover.
She lived from 1897 to 1991. During that time the country changed dramatically: horse-drawn wagons and irrigation homesteads; early radio retail; two world wars; postwar suburban growth; modern finance and heart valve surgery.
She entered the workforce at eighteen. Served as Secretary-Treasurer of a radio supply company. Presided over the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary. Served four years as Relief Society secretary. Worked at Hill Field during wartime. Partnered in Glen Bros Music in Provo. Raised four children. Moved across states when business required it. Wrote her recollections in her nineties.
Her public presence in print was less dramatic than Wesley's, but her presence is visible in every business transition and every relocation. He often held public roles. She handled the books and committee work. He was visible in print. She was steady behind the scenes. Togetherness was evidenced in their pursuits.
She died July 12, 1991, at the age of 94, and is buried next to Wes in the Salt Lake City Cemetery.