Haight was born in Oakley, Idaho, on September 2, 1906, the son of Hector Caleb Haight and Clara Josephine Tuttle.[2] Hector was the son of Horton D. Haight, who had been involved in many trips in the Mormon trek and served as the first president of the LDS Church stake that included Oakley. David's maternal grandfather, Norton Ray Tuttle, was the first bishop of Tooele, Utah.[3]
Haight received a degree from Utah State University where he was initiated into the Gamma Epsilon chapter of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, and he served as a commander in the Navy during World War II.[4]
Career
Haight was an executive in the retail business.
Haight served as mayor of Palo Alto, California from 1959 to 1963, and was the owner of the Palo Alto Hardware store.[5]
The vacancy in the church's Quorum of the Twelve, from the death of Hugh B. Brown in December 1975, was filled by Haight. He was ordained an apostle on January 8, 1976.[6]
Haight died the morning of July 31, 2004, of causes incident to age, having attended the funeral of his Quorum of the Twelve colleague, Neal A. Maxwell, four days earlier.[7]Dieter F. Uchtdorf and David A. Bednar were called to fill the vacancies created by the deaths of Maxwell and Haight.[8] Haight's funeral service was held in the Salt Lake Tabernacle and he was interred at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Holladay, Utah.[9] At 97 years old, he was the oldest apostle in church history until being surpassed by Russell M. Nelson in 2022.
Personal life
Haight was married to Ruby M. Olson (1910–2004).[10] He was the father-in-law of businessman and philanthropist Jon Huntsman Sr., through Haight's daughter, Karen, and grandfather of the former governor of Utah and former U.S. Ambassador to China and Russia, Jon Huntsman Jr.
