Henry Bellmon
| Henry Louis Bellmon | |
 | |
Governor of Oklahoma
| |
| In office January 12, 1987 – January 14, 1991 | |
| Lieutenant Governor | Robert S. Kerr, III |
|---|---|
| Preceded by | George Patterson Nigh |
| Succeeded by | David Walters |
| In office January 14, 1963 – January 9, 1967 | |
| Preceded by | Leo Winters |
| Succeeded by | Dewey Bartlett |
United States Senator
for Oklahoma | |
| In office January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1981 | |
| Preceded by | Almer Stillwell "Mike" Monroney |
| Succeeded by | Don Nickles |
Oklahoma State Representative
| |
| In office 1946–1948 | |
| Born | September 3, 1921 Tonkawa, Kay County, Oklahoma |
| Died | September 29, 2009 (aged 88) Enid, Garfield County, Oklahoma |
| Resting place | Billings Union Cemetery in Billings in Noble County, Oklahoma |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Shirley Osborn Bellmon (born 1927; married 1947–2000, her death) Laura Eloise Morsman Bollenbach Bellmon (1927-2011; married 2002–2009, his death) |
| Children | Two step-children from second marriage: A. Scott and Barry Bollenbach |
| Alma mater | Oklahoma State University at Stillwater |
Military Service
| |
| Service/branch | United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1942–1946 |
| Rank | First lieutenant |
| Battles/wars | World War II: Pacific theater of operations |
| Awards | Silver Star Legion of Merit |
Henry Louis Bellmon (September 3, 1921 – September 29, 2009)[1] was a Republican politician from his native Oklahoma. Bellmon was elected to non-consecutive terms as governor in 1962 and 1986. He was the first Republican governor since statehood. From 1969 to 1981, he was a United States Senator for Oklahoma, having unseated the Democratic incumbent, Almer Stillwell "Mike" Monroney (1902-1980), while Richard M. Nixon was elected to the second of his three presidential victories in Oklahoma.
Background
Bellmon was born in Tonkawa in Kay County in northern Oklahoma, and graduated in 1938 from Billings (Oklahoma) High School. In 1942, he received a bachelor's degree in agriculture from what is now Oklahoma State University) in Stillwater. From 1942 to 1946, he was a lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps and led a tank platoon in the Pacific theater of operations in World War II. He fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima.[2]
For his service, he was awarded the Legion of Merit and a Silver Star.[3] After the war he returned to farming before entering politics.
Political life
Bellmon served a single term as a state representative fourteen years before his initial election as governor. After his two terms in the U.S. Senate, he returned to the governorship. In 1960, he was the Oklahoma Republican state party chairman. Two years later, he defeated the Democrat developer W. P. "Bill" Atkinson (1906-1999), who planned Midwest City, Oklahoma, with 392,316 votes (55.3 percent). Governor Bellmon served as the chairman of the Interstate Oil Compact Commission andsat on the executive committee of the National Governor's Association.[4] He was unable to run for reelection in 1966 because of term limit, which were abolished that years; at the time, Oklahoma did not allow governors to succeed themselves. Fellow Republican Dewey Bartlett was elected as Bellmon's successor.
His 1974 contest for a second term in a heavily Democrat year ended in a disputed outcome. On election night, he led former ten-term U.S. Representative Edmond Augustus "Ed" Edmondson (1919-1990) by only 3,835 votes. Edmondson challenged the result and alleged irregularities in the voting, specifically that Tulsa County did not have levers to allow straight-ticket voting as required under state law. The state Supreme Court ruled that Edmondson could not demonstrate that the irregularities would have made him the winner. Edmondson then appealed to the Senate in January 1975, but the Senate voted, with all the Republicans and nine Democrats in agreement, to seat Bellmon.[5]
Along with fellow Governors Tim Babcock of Montana and Paul Fannin of Arizona, Bellmon, then believed to be a conservative, endorsed Barry Goldwater of Arizona for his party's 1964 presidential nomination. Thirteen other GOP governors, led by George Romney of Michigan declined to do so.[6] During his Senate tenure, Bellmon emerged particularly in the second term as a Moderate Republican, sometimes took positions that put him at odds with the still conservative Oklahoma Republican Party. Bellmon backed the unelected incumbent Gerald R. Ford, Jr., over Ronald Reagan in the 1976 presidential nomination contest in Kansas City, Missouri. He voted against the failed constitutional amendment to prohibit busing for racial balance in public schools. He supported the surrender of the Panama Canal through the Torrijos–Carter treaties. During his second term he was the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee. He co-founded the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, which never produced a balanced budget.[4][7][1]He chose not to run for re-election in 1980 and was succeeded by a conservative Republican, Don Nickles.
In 1976, Bellmon was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame at the state capital of Oklahoma City.[8]
In 1982, Bellmon was appointed the interim director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services by Democratic Governor George Patterson Nigh (born 1927), his predecessor in office for Bellmon's second term.[9]
Later years
After the death of his first wife of fifty-three years, Shirley Osborn Bellmon (1927-2000), he wed a longtime friend, Laura Eloise Morsman Bollenbach (1927-2011), the widow of Irvin Keith Bollenbach (1919-1997). Irvin and Eloise Bollenbach in 1945 founded and developed the Kingfisher airport in Kingfisher in central Oklahoma. The airport operated a ground school, offered flight instruction, trained military personnel, provided charter service, and helped farmers with aerial spraying.[10]
A few months before his death, The Oklahoman reported that Bellmon was living in Kingfisher with Eloise and was still farming despite severe health issues. He also taught at several Oklahoma universities.[11] He died at the age of eighty-eight after a long struggle with Parkinson's disease. He is interred by his first wife, Shirley, at Billings Cemetery in Billings in Noble County, Oklahoma.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Henry Louis Bellmon (1921-2009) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed July 13, 2021.
- ↑ Carolyn G. Hanneman, "Bellmon, Henry Louis (1921-2009), The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History & Culture.
- ↑ Barbara Hoberock, "Former governor Henry Bellmon die," The Tulsa World, September 29, 2009.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Henry Bellmon. The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on July 13, 2021..
- ↑ The Election Case of Edmond A. Edmondson v. Henry L. Bellmon of Oklahoma. United States Senate (1976). Retrieved on July 12, 2021.
- ↑ G.O.P. GOVERNORS FORESEE VICTORY FOR GOLDWATER; Most Expect Nomination on First Ballot—Moderates Seek Platform Accord; ROMNEY WARNS PARTY; Says Choice of the Senator Would Bring ‘Destruction’ — Scranton. The New York Times (June 8, 1964). Retrieved on July 15, 2021.
- ↑ Randy Krehbiel, "State mourns GOP giant: Ex-governor, senator dies at 88," The Tulsa World, September 30, 2009.
- ↑ Henry Bellmon induction. oklahomaheritage.com. Retrieved on July 13, 2021.
- ↑ "Former Oklahoma Gov. Henry Bellmon dies," The Oklahoman, September 29, 2009.
- ↑ Laura Eloise Morsman Bollenbach Bellmon (1927-2011) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed July 13, 2021}}
- ↑ Bryan Painter (March 1, 2009). Rural upbringing shapes former governor Henry Bellmon's life. The Oklahoman.
