Robert W Winterton

Watch the Live-Stream of the Memorial Service HERE.

Robert W Winterton, age 45, of Cedar City, formerly of Roosevelt, passed away April 14, 2026, from complication of cancer.

He was born March 20, 1981, in Roosevelt, Utah, to Don W and Barbara “Bobbi” Jeanne Wayman Winterton, and was the eighth of what would later be nine children.

Robby had a great love of learning and applying that knowledge. In his short 45 years, he probably read more books than the average person could read in multiple lifetimes. He had other loves as well. He loved the sport of wrestling and wrestled for Union High. He continued that love of wrestling and recently started refereeing wrestling matches. He loved welding and diesel mechanics. Rob was also an Eagle Scout. He had so many interests that it was hard for him to choose a focus of study for just one profession.

Rob decided to learn to play the piano when he was about 12 years old. He taught himself and learned so quickly that it seemed like only a few months later he was playing Beethoven and Scott Joplin. The Entertainer and Mapleleaf Rag, Fur Elise and the Moonlight Sonata became the family’s alarm clock, because Rob would often start playing with great gusto every morning at 6 am. Family members who had not learned to play so well were inspired to up their game after hearing Rob play, because he played with so much feeling and enthusiasm and attention to dynamics that we knew we needed to try harder. He was a great example.

In the spring of 2000, at age 19, Rob served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for two years in Cebu, Philippines. He loved serving the Filipino people. The poverty he saw there stood out against the great wealth found in our nation which was disheartening to him.

After Rob returned home in 2002, he attended George Wythe College in Cedar City, Utah, focusing on government and constitutional studies and received a B.A. of Statesmanship. He put himself through college each summer by doing sales in different areas of the country, something he enjoyed doing, particularly because he enjoyed meeting and talking to people and traveling. He also worked in home construction roofing houses, putting siding on houses and concrete work. Later he lived in Price for 6 months while he attended USU Eastern for their welding program.

Rob traveled to Europe and also Northern Africa and the Middle East, backpacking across the country with a friend and seeing the world, not as a tourist usually sees it, but by staying in the hostels and getting to know the people who lived there. He had a great love for his fellow man and those he viewed as oppressed.

In 2009, Robby met and married Mirina Crandall. They dated for 6 months before getting married on August 14, 2009. After two years, Robby and Mirina welcomed their first baby, a little girl who they named Leah Louise. Robby was a natural dad. He took to it like he’d been doing it for years. He just loved being a dad, and there was little he wouldn’t do for his Leah Louise. Miriam Bodil was born two years later, and Mirina would often tease Robby that Miriam had him wrapped around her fingers. Robby and Mirina lived in Cedar City, Price, Provo, Roosevelt, Walnut Creek, CA, San Antonio, TX, and Hilo, HI, before moving to Iowa City, IA. where Robby attended Law School for three years. Those years in Iowa City were some of the best years of Robby’s and Mirina’s lives, as well as some of the hardest. During Robby’s second year, he lost his mother-in-law to cancer, and then a month later, lost his own father to cancer. He still managed to finish the year strong, although grieving tremendously. His spare time was brief, but Robby managed to find moments with his little girls. Whether it was taking walks, story time, karaoke, water gun fights, trips to the playground, Robby did his best to find time for them. His third child, a beautiful baby boy who they named Jeremiah Wayman, was born in New Hampton, a small town in northern Iowa. Mirina didn’t have an ultrasound the entire pregnancy, but was confident that she was having a boy. Robby, by that time, had learned to trust the mysterious intuition of a mother, so he eagerly waited for his son to be born. Jeremiah was born at home on an early April morning. Robby’s was the first face he saw, the first hands and arms that held him. Robby cut his umbilical cord, kissed his little face, and long after the birth was over, spent hours walking through the house with his newborn son in his arms. He loved being a dad.

One of Robby’s and Mirina’s favorite pastimes included Karaoke. Whether it was one, both, or the whole family, music was very much a part of daily life in the Winterton home. When Robby and Mirina were dating, Robby sang a song for Mirina, telling her that it perfectly summed up how he felt about her. The song was “I Could Not Ask for More” by Edwin McCain. They knew they loved each other by that time and were each other's dreams come true. Robby would often sing this song to Mirina, letting her know that he “couldn’t ask for more than their time together” and that with her he’d “found all he’d waited for” and these were the moments that “he knew heaven must exist.” Robby was always good at expressing his love through song, and he’d find the perfect songs for the people he loved. For Jeremiah it was “My Hometown”. For Leah, it was “Sweet Caroline”, but he’d change the lyrics to “Sweet Leah-Lu.” For Miriam it was “Forever in Blue Jeans”. There were so many other songs as well that Robby would spontaneously decide “I need to sing this song for Leah”, or, “Miriam, I need to sing this song to you. This is your song now.” He was so good like that. He would sing “Stars” from Les Miserables when he wanted to experience what it felt like to be a Prosecutor. Then quickly wash the taste out his mouth by singing “Who Am I?” Mirina and Robby loved singing to each other, often dedicating songs to each other that quickly became each other's songs. “Maria” from “West Side Story” became “Mirina.” And Robby would precede the song EVERY TIME by saying, “Children. This is how I felt the night I met your mom. I couldn’t get her out of my head.” “Sky Full of Stars” by Coldplay was Robby’s number one song, and hands down the kid's favorite song for him to sing. He would tell Mirina that she was his “sky full of stars” and she was his “heavenly view.” However, “Sky Full of Stars” was never Mirina’s song; there is no other song that reminds the kids more of their father than this one. It is absolutely Robby’s song. He is now their sky full of stars, and their Heavenly view.

Rob earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Iowa College of Law and began his legal career in New Hampton, Iowa, as a dedicated criminal defense attorney. In the 2022 Iowa Supreme Court case State v. Watson, he secured a unanimous ruling that strengthened speedy-indictment protections by establishing that a citation in lieu of arrest—such as a traffic ticket—starts the clock for timely prosecution, even during the COVID-19 pandemic. The court agreed that the state’s delay in filing formal charges violated these protections, resulting in dismissal of the case. His work helped ensure fairer treatment in the justice system by preventing prolonged, unresolved charges. https://www.iowacourts.gov/courtcases/14117/briefs/4022/embedBrief

After returning to Cedar City, Utah, Robert founded Winterton Law, focusing on DUI, criminal defense, and traffic cases as a member of the National College for DUI Defense and the Utah Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Known for his personalized and aggressive representation, he also championed free speech rights; in 2024 he testified before the Utah Legislature in support of reforming the state’s criminal defamation statute, describing one of his clients as a “whistleblower” and calling the reform “a beacon of hope” for protecting individual liberties. Throughout his career, he fought tirelessly for his clients with compassion and determination, always working to make the legal system fairer and more just.

Rob’s reputation in Southern Utah was “the lawyer who would go to jail with you.” He never went to jail, but he sure helped a lot of people who found themselves in dire situations. He became a highly sought out defense attorney with outstanding reviews from many people such as this one: “We were looking for the best defense attorney we could quickly find in Southern Utah and Robert Winterton had (83) 5 Star Reviews. I didn’t even think that was possible; Johnny Cochrane reincarnated, Robert is the real deal. He is relentless and actually cares about his clients. He will bend over backwards to get the result you are looking for and won’t stop until the job is done! We are eternally grateful for having crossed paths with him. We look forward to keeping him on retainer! CHEERS to Robert Winterton!” Rob now has far more reviews, all positive.

Rob continued to work for his clients up to the day before he passed away and even participated in a court case via a conference call and won that case, even though he was in a great deal of pain. He was dedicated and loyal. He went out of his way to help people in need; from his family, his nieces and nephews, to total strangers,. He truly cared about those in need.

He leaves behind a grieving family: his wife, Mirina Catherine Crandall, his daughters, Leah Louise and Miriam Bodil, and his son, Jeremiah Wayman, together with his immediate family, his mother, Bobbi, his four brothers, Michael (Rachelle Davis), Steven (Deena Huffaker), Mark (Jennifer Hunt), Jeffrey (Amanda Crow), four sisters, Alicia (Kris Bird), Shauna (Steve Haney), Lianne Winterton, and Kristine (Wayland Duncan) and numerous nieces and nephews and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, Van and Nida Winterton, Max and Jeri Wayman, his father, Don Winterton, his niece, Lexee Adele Winterton, and his nephew, Ephraim Samuel Ames.

A memorial service will be held at 12:00 noon on Saturday, April 25, 2026 at the Cove 2nd Ward Chapel, 250 W 200 North (Across from the hospital in Roosevelt).