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Created page with "{{Infobox officeholder | name=Wayne Wright Connally | image=Wayne Connally of TX.jpg | birth_date=March 19, 1923 | birth_place=Floresville, Wilson County, Texas, USA | death_..."
{{Infobox officeholder
| name=Wayne Wright Connally
| image=Wayne Connally of TX.jpg
| birth_date=March 19, 1923
| birth_place=Floresville, Wilson County, Texas, USA
| death_date=December 20, 2000 (aged 77)
| death_place=Cody, Park County, [[Wyoming]]
|alma_mater=[[University of Texas at Austin]]
|religion=[[United Methodist]]
|occupation=Rancher
|spouse=Kay Connally (divorced)
|children=Wyatt, Wesley, and Pamela
|party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
|office=[[Texas]] State Representative for District 44
|term_start=1965
|term_end=1967
|preceded=
|succeeded=
|office2=Texas State Senator for District 21
|term_start2=1967
|term_end2=1973
|preceded2=Abraham "Chick" Kazen, Jr.
|succeeded2=John Traeger
|branch=[[United States Army]] Air Corps
|battles=[[World War II]]
}}
'''Wayne Wright Connally''' (March 19, 1923 – December 20, 2000) was a [[Texas]] [[rancher]], a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] member of both houses of the Texas legislature, and a brother of both former [[Governor]] and [[United States Treasury Secretary]] [[John Connally|John Bowden Connally, Jr.]], and [[Merrill Connally|Merrill Lee Connally, Sr.]], an [[actor]] and a former county judge.
==Background==
Connally was born into a family of eight children and reared in Floresville in Wilson County some thirty miles southeast of [[San Antonio]]. His father, John Connally, Sr., was a tenant [[farmer]] who once ran for county clerk. His mother, the former Lela Wright, gave him his middle name. After attending public schools in Floresville and San Antonio, Connally attended the [[University of Texas at Austin]]. He thereafter enlisted during [[World War II]] in the [[United States Army]] Air Corps, the forerunner of the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]].<ref name=tsc>{{cite web|url=http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us/pub/user_form.asp?step=2&pers_id=8690&last_name=Connally&first_name=Wayne|title=Texas State Cemetery: Wayne Connally (cenotaph)|publisher=cemetery.state.tx.us|accessdate=December 25, 2008}}</ref>
==Legislative years==
In 1964, when John Connally was handily victorious to the second of three consecutive two-year terms as governor by defeating [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[Jack Crichton]], Wayne Connally was elected to the District 44 seat in the Texas House of Representatives. Two years later, Wayne Connally was elected to the state Senate from District 21 and served until January 1973. In the 1970 Democratic primary, he defeated the [[Hispanic]] activist, Erasmo Andrade.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clnet.ucla.edu/research/docs/razaunida/control.htm|author=José Ángel Gutiérrez|title=Mexicanos Need to Control Their Own Destinies|location=[[San Antonio]], Texas|date=May 4, 1970|publisher=La Raza Unida|accessdate=December 25, 2008}}</ref> With the increasing clout of minorities in Democratic primaries, Andrade was considered a serious opponent. Andrade questioned why Connally had voted against a state [[minimum wage]] proposal, a [[teacher]] pay hike, and in support of retaining the state [[sales tax]] on food. Wayne Connally, like his brother a protégé of [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], retained his seat from the unexpected challenge.<ref>Charles Ashman, ''Connally: The Adventures of Big Bad John,'' p. 172.</ref>
On October 7, 1971, Connally was honored as "Governor for a Day," his last two years in office.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/legis/leaders/presprotem.html|title=Texas state legislative leaders|publisher=Texas Legislative Reference Library|accessdate=December 25, 2008}}</ref>
Wayne Connally worked with John Connally to lay the groundwork for the first upper-level higher education institution in [[Laredo]], in Webb Count]. Texas A&I University at Laredo opened in 1969. In 1993, the institution was expanded and relocated as the current Texas A&M International University off the Bob Bullock Expressway.
Connally's chief of staff was Laredo [[attorney]] Carlos Zaffirini, Sr., (born 1944). Zaffirni's wife, Judith Pappas Zaffirini (born 1946), has held Connally's former Senate seat since her first election in 1986. She was a part-time media aide to Connally.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist21/pr05/p011205a.htm|title=Office of State Senator Judith Zaffirini|date=January 12, 2005|publisher=Texas State Senate|accessdate=December 25, 2008}}</ref>
==Death and legacy==
Connally died in Cody, [[Wyoming]], where he had relocated in his later years to be near his children.<ref name=tsc/> Survivors included two sons, Wyatt Connally and Wesley Connally, and a daughter Pamela; four grandchildren; his brother, Merrill (who died the following year), and his sister, Blanche Connally Kline. The Texas State Senate introduced a resolution on March 19, 2001, on what would have been Connally's 78th birthday, to recognize his public service.<ref name=hall/>
Connally was cremated, his ashes were scattered on the family ranch in Floresville, and a [[cenotaph]] was erected in his honor at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.<ref name=tsc/>
Ralph Moody Hall (also born 1923 and hence the senior member of the Texas delegation to the [[United States House of Representatives]]) of Rockwall near [[Dallas]] served with Connally in the state Senate. Hall died in 2019 at the age of ninety-five. The two also ran against each other for lieutenant governor in the 1972 Democratic primary. Both lost to William Pettus Hobby, Jr., whose mother, Oveta Culp Hobby, owned the former ''Houston Post'' [[newspaper]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hobbycomm.com/wph/Kinder%20Gentler%20Days.doc |title=Statement of William P. Hobby, Jr. |publisher=Hobby Communications|accessdate=December 25, 2008; material no longer accessible on-line.}}</ref> Upon Connally's death, Hall introduced into the ''[[Congressional Record]]'' his personal tribute to his fallen friend: "He was a terrific Senator, totally dedicated ... so very capable of friendship, and ... always responsive to anyone in need. Wayne's over-riding goal was to uphold integrity and responsibility in government... Wayne embodied the Texas persona—and he leaves behind a legacy of faithful service to the people of his native state that he so loved."<ref name=hall/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connally, Wayne}}
[[Category:Texas]]
[[Category:Wyoming]]
[[Category:Ranchers]]
[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:United States Army]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:State Senators]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:United Methodists]]
| name=Wayne Wright Connally
| image=Wayne Connally of TX.jpg
| birth_date=March 19, 1923
| birth_place=Floresville, Wilson County, Texas, USA
| death_date=December 20, 2000 (aged 77)
| death_place=Cody, Park County, [[Wyoming]]
|alma_mater=[[University of Texas at Austin]]
|religion=[[United Methodist]]
|occupation=Rancher
|spouse=Kay Connally (divorced)
|children=Wyatt, Wesley, and Pamela
|party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]
|office=[[Texas]] State Representative for District 44
|term_start=1965
|term_end=1967
|preceded=
|succeeded=
|office2=Texas State Senator for District 21
|term_start2=1967
|term_end2=1973
|preceded2=Abraham "Chick" Kazen, Jr.
|succeeded2=John Traeger
|branch=[[United States Army]] Air Corps
|battles=[[World War II]]
}}
'''Wayne Wright Connally''' (March 19, 1923 – December 20, 2000) was a [[Texas]] [[rancher]], a [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] member of both houses of the Texas legislature, and a brother of both former [[Governor]] and [[United States Treasury Secretary]] [[John Connally|John Bowden Connally, Jr.]], and [[Merrill Connally|Merrill Lee Connally, Sr.]], an [[actor]] and a former county judge.
==Background==
Connally was born into a family of eight children and reared in Floresville in Wilson County some thirty miles southeast of [[San Antonio]]. His father, John Connally, Sr., was a tenant [[farmer]] who once ran for county clerk. His mother, the former Lela Wright, gave him his middle name. After attending public schools in Floresville and San Antonio, Connally attended the [[University of Texas at Austin]]. He thereafter enlisted during [[World War II]] in the [[United States Army]] Air Corps, the forerunner of the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]].<ref name=tsc>{{cite web|url=http://www.cemetery.state.tx.us/pub/user_form.asp?step=2&pers_id=8690&last_name=Connally&first_name=Wayne|title=Texas State Cemetery: Wayne Connally (cenotaph)|publisher=cemetery.state.tx.us|accessdate=December 25, 2008}}</ref>
==Legislative years==
In 1964, when John Connally was handily victorious to the second of three consecutive two-year terms as governor by defeating [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[Jack Crichton]], Wayne Connally was elected to the District 44 seat in the Texas House of Representatives. Two years later, Wayne Connally was elected to the state Senate from District 21 and served until January 1973. In the 1970 Democratic primary, he defeated the [[Hispanic]] activist, Erasmo Andrade.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://clnet.ucla.edu/research/docs/razaunida/control.htm|author=José Ángel Gutiérrez|title=Mexicanos Need to Control Their Own Destinies|location=[[San Antonio]], Texas|date=May 4, 1970|publisher=La Raza Unida|accessdate=December 25, 2008}}</ref> With the increasing clout of minorities in Democratic primaries, Andrade was considered a serious opponent. Andrade questioned why Connally had voted against a state [[minimum wage]] proposal, a [[teacher]] pay hike, and in support of retaining the state [[sales tax]] on food. Wayne Connally, like his brother a protégé of [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], retained his seat from the unexpected challenge.<ref>Charles Ashman, ''Connally: The Adventures of Big Bad John,'' p. 172.</ref>
On October 7, 1971, Connally was honored as "Governor for a Day," his last two years in office.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lrl.state.tx.us/legis/leaders/presprotem.html|title=Texas state legislative leaders|publisher=Texas Legislative Reference Library|accessdate=December 25, 2008}}</ref>
Wayne Connally worked with John Connally to lay the groundwork for the first upper-level higher education institution in [[Laredo]], in Webb Count]. Texas A&I University at Laredo opened in 1969. In 1993, the institution was expanded and relocated as the current Texas A&M International University off the Bob Bullock Expressway.
Connally's chief of staff was Laredo [[attorney]] Carlos Zaffirini, Sr., (born 1944). Zaffirni's wife, Judith Pappas Zaffirini (born 1946), has held Connally's former Senate seat since her first election in 1986. She was a part-time media aide to Connally.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/senate/members/dist21/pr05/p011205a.htm|title=Office of State Senator Judith Zaffirini|date=January 12, 2005|publisher=Texas State Senate|accessdate=December 25, 2008}}</ref>
==Death and legacy==
Connally died in Cody, [[Wyoming]], where he had relocated in his later years to be near his children.<ref name=tsc/> Survivors included two sons, Wyatt Connally and Wesley Connally, and a daughter Pamela; four grandchildren; his brother, Merrill (who died the following year), and his sister, Blanche Connally Kline. The Texas State Senate introduced a resolution on March 19, 2001, on what would have been Connally's 78th birthday, to recognize his public service.<ref name=hall/>
Connally was cremated, his ashes were scattered on the family ranch in Floresville, and a [[cenotaph]] was erected in his honor at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.<ref name=tsc/>
Ralph Moody Hall (also born 1923 and hence the senior member of the Texas delegation to the [[United States House of Representatives]]) of Rockwall near [[Dallas]] served with Connally in the state Senate. Hall died in 2019 at the age of ninety-five. The two also ran against each other for lieutenant governor in the 1972 Democratic primary. Both lost to William Pettus Hobby, Jr., whose mother, Oveta Culp Hobby, owned the former ''Houston Post'' [[newspaper]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hobbycomm.com/wph/Kinder%20Gentler%20Days.doc |title=Statement of William P. Hobby, Jr. |publisher=Hobby Communications|accessdate=December 25, 2008; material no longer accessible on-line.}}</ref> Upon Connally's death, Hall introduced into the ''[[Congressional Record]]'' his personal tribute to his fallen friend: "He was a terrific Senator, totally dedicated ... so very capable of friendship, and ... always responsive to anyone in need. Wayne's over-riding goal was to uphold integrity and responsibility in government... Wayne embodied the Texas persona—and he leaves behind a legacy of faithful service to the people of his native state that he so loved."<ref name=hall/>
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connally, Wayne}}
[[Category:Texas]]
[[Category:Wyoming]]
[[Category:Ranchers]]
[[Category:World War II]]
[[Category:United States Army]]
[[Category:Politicians]]
[[Category:State Senators]]
[[Category:Democrats]]
[[Category:United Methodists]]