Gerald Eugene Geis (August 31, 1933 – November 2, 2022) was an American politician who served as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Wyoming Senate The Wyoming Senate is the upper house of the Wyoming State Legislature. There are 30 Senators in the Senate, representing an equal number of constituencies across Wyoming, each with a population of at least 17,000. The Senate meets at the Wyom ...

, representing the 20th district from 1975 to 1986 and from 1993 until his retirement in 2017.

Early life

Geis was born August 31, 1933, in a cabin near

Ten Sleep, Wyoming Ten Sleep is a town in Washakie County, Wyoming, United States. It is located in the Bighorn Basin in the western foothills of the Bighorn Mountains, approximately east of Worland and west of Buffalo. The population was 206 at the 2020 cens ...

. He moved to Worland in 1944 and graduated from

Worland High School Worland High School is a public high school in Worland, Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east ...

in 1951.

Career

Geis worked in road construction and hauling livestock and was first asked to enter politics in 1974 whilst attending the Wyoming Truckers Convention. In 1976 he helped create Wyoming's senior citizen centers. He ran for

Wyoming Secretary of State The secretary of state of Wyoming is the state secretary of state of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is a constitutional office, established under the Constitution of Wyoming and the secretary of state accedes to the governorship in case of a va ...

in 1986 but was defeated in the primary by 62 votes. Geis was reappointed to the Senate in 1993. In 2007, he sponsored a bill that, if it had passed, would have voided out of state same-sex marriages from being recognized in Wyoming. In 2015, Geis voted against the Wyoming Food Freedom Act in committee, which allowed for the sale and consumption of homemade foods. In 2016, he voted against expanding

Medicaid Medicaid in the United States is a federal and state program that helps with healthcare costs for some people with limited income and resources. Medicaid also offers benefits not normally covered by Medicare, including nursing home care and per ...

. Geis retired in 2017, with Wyatt Agar being elected to his former seat.

Personal life and death

Geis was married to Irma, and together they had two children. He was

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. In 2005, he was inducted into the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame. Geis died on November 2, 2022, at the age of 89, in Loveland, Colorado.

Political Experience

* Senator, Wyoming State Senate, 1993–2017 (appointed 1993) *Senator, Wyoming State Senate, 1975–1986 (Senate President 1985–1986; Majority Floor Leader 1983–1984; Senate Vice President 1983–1984) *Member, Worland City Council

Committees

Geis served eight years on the Appropriations Committee, serving as its president in 1981, and he served as chairman for the Select Water Committee. He also served as the chair of the Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources Committee, and as a member of the Select Federal Natural Resource Management Committee.

References

1933 births 2022 deaths Wyoming city council members Presidents of the Wyoming Senate Republican Party Wyoming state senators 21st-century American politicians People from Washakie County, Wyoming People from Worland, Wyoming {{Wyoming-politician-stub