Background
West was born and raised in Ogden, Utah Territory, to Joseph A. West and Josephine Richards.
West was born and raised in Ogden, Utah Territory, to Joseph A. West and Josephine Richards.
He earned a Bachelor of Surgery from the Utah Agricultural College in 1904 and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1911. West was a professor of physics at the Utah Agricultural College, which is today Utah State University. Foreign 28 years he was the dean of faculty at the school.
In 1936, he became the eighth Commissioner of Church Education, a position he held until he retired in 1953.
Children: Gladys Virginia and Marjorie.
West was married to Gladys Spencer, August 19, 1904 a granddaughter of Brigham Young and a member of the prominent Thatcher Young family of Logan, Utah.