Charles Bradley (Toby) Pearson Sr.

October 16, 1940 ~ December 2, 2015
Charles Bradley (Toby) Pearson was born to RL and Ruth Pearson on October 16, 1940 in Mancos, CO.
The Pearson family was relocated to Monticello during World War II. Toby’s father RL was assigned to work in the Uranium Mill during the war.
Toby, his sister Betty, and brother Jimmy grew up down in the area where Blue Mountain Meats now stands.
After the war, RL and Ruth bought a LP Gas Company and gas station, to allow the family to stay in Monticello.
Toby enjoyed hunting and was an athlete, playing football, basketball and wrestling.
He was very active in school and graduated at the age of 16 and was student body President of Monticello High School.
After graduation, Toby attended CEU in Price on a football scholarship.
Toby enlisted and went into the army in November of 1959 and served through November of 1962. He had missions during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Kent State Riots.
During his service, he was a Sergeant in the 101st Airborne Unit. He was always proud of his service and shared bits and pieces with us.
He continued his leadership in the service and was an instructor for combatives and airborne, as well as attending Ranger School.
On September 21, 1963, Toby wed his wife, Barbara Joy Hall in her parents’ home in Bluff, UT. They made their home in Monticello.
Toby worked in a Uranium Mine in Red Canyon. Pam was born in 1964. He then took a job with Boyles Brothers which took him to Leadville, CO and Silver City, NM.
In the fall of 1966, they moved to Moab because Toby had gotten a job at the Potash Mine.
Lori was born in Moab in October shortly after the move. He worked at the Potash Mine until it was flooded and shut down. Toby continued to work for other companies over the years and mining became his lifetime career.
In 1969, Toby Jr. was born, 1970, Rena and in 1971, Tricia was born.
Toby and Barbara bought a home on Circle Drive in Monticello and shortly after Toby went to work at Rio Algom He worked there until 1988.
In those years at Rio, he worked as a miner, a shifter and then finally a Safety Director. Toby was the Mine Rescue Coordinator and worked together with two different mine rescue teams.
It was a huge success and brought many awards to Rio Algom, one being a National Championship.
Another of his accomplishments was to change several safety guidelines and have them adopted on a national level to establish a safer environment for the miners he worked with.
In 1976, Toby and his family moved to the place they still have on the outside city limits of Monticello. Toby always took pride in the place and its appearance. He taught his kids how to work and play in the fields out back, as well the many picnics and family parties in the backyard under the big tree.
1989 brought closure to Rio Algom. It didn’t take long after that for Toby to find a job back in Safety. This started a new chapter in his work career as he was working for different contracting companies as a Safety Director.
He was employed by several different companies; such as Thyssen, Centennial, JS Redpath and Dennison, and traveled to Illinois, Canada, back to Nevada, Utah and Colorado.
During these years, Toby and Barbara traveled back home on their free time to visit the grandbabies that were arriving.
Each one was very important to them and they showed pride in each one of their accomplishments as they grew. They wanted to be sure and be a part of each one’s life.
Toby had a very positive outlook on life and there was not a lot of give up in him. He instilled that in his children and grandchildren. If it wouldn’t work one way, he would tell you to step back and come at it from another direction.
He was very patient and forgiving. These abilities became treasured skills in the last few years as it became a team effort to figure out how to move him about. He never lost the ability to make everyone feel a part of the team.
Toby and his wife Barbara celebrated their 52nd wedding anniversary in September.
Their greatest accomplishment is their family, including Pamela (Jeff) Hanson of Monticello; Lori (Mike) Allred of Elmo, UT; Toby Jr (Jill) Pearson of Monticello; Rena (Ty) Fisher of Freedonia, AZ; and Tricia (Richard) Van Wagoner of Cleveland, UT; 16 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Toby is also survived by his sister, Betty Jean Pearson, of Cheyenne, WY.
Card of thanks
The family of Charles Bradley (Toby) Pearson Sr. would like to express their sincere gratitude to those who stepped forward to help and express their love during these last few months.
Barbara Pearson
Pam, Jeff, Emily and Jerod Hanson
Lori, Mike, Tana (Christensen) and Kenna
Charles Bradley (Toby) Jr., Jill Pearson, Dillon and Jessica Slack,
Garret and Paige Pearson
Rena and Ty Fisher, Kamie Prestwich
Tricia, Richard, Ricky (Powell), Michael, Tia (Jacobson), Rondi, Shalae and David Van Wagoner