Chester Louis Mize (December 25, 1917 – January 11, 1994) was a Republican member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. Mize was a native of

Atchison, Kansas Atchison is a city in, and the county seat of, Atchison County, Kansas, United States, along the Missouri River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 10,885. The city is named in honor of US Senator ...

, and attended the

University of Kansas School of Business The University of Kansas School of Business is a public business school on the main campus of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. The KU School of Business was founded in 1924 and has more than 100 faculty members and approximately 150 ...

. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and received the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

with Combat V. After the war, Mize was involved in his family's wholesale hardware business, and was an officer of several other corporations, in addition to owning and operating a farm and a cattle ranch. Mize also served on the Atchison school board, and was active in several other civic organizations, including the board of trustees of Mount St. Scholastica College. In 1964, Mize was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He served three terms, 1965 to 1971, and was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1970. After leaving Congress, Mize served as chairman of the

United States Tariff Commission The United States International Trade Commission (USITC or I.T.C.) is an agency of the United States federal government that advises the legislative and executive branches on matters of trade. It was created by Congress in 1916 as the U.S. Tari ...

in 1971. In retirement, he resided in

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,115, down from 19,539 at the 2010 census. Naples is a principal city of the Collier County, Florida, Naples–Marc ...

before moving to

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood in San Diego, California, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. The climate is mild, with an average daily temperature o ...

. He died in La Jolla on January 11, 1994, and was buried in Atchison.

Early life

Mize was born in

on December 25, 1917. He attended the public schools of Atchison, and graduated from Atchison High School. He then studied at the

from 1935 to 1939.

World War II

He joined the

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...

in 1940, where he served on active duty in the South Pacific Theater from 1941 to 1945 on board the USS ''

Hornet Hornets (insects in the genus ''Vespa'') are the largest of the Eusociality, eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to yellowjackets, their close relatives. Some species can reach up to in length. They are distinguished from other Vespi ...

''. He was released to inactive service as a lieutenant commander at the end of the war, and was awarded the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

with Combat V.

Career

After

, Mize served in a number of leadership positions in business, including succeeding his father as treasurer of Blish, Mize & Silliman wholesale hardware. He served as vice president of Locomotive Finished Materials Co. from 1951 to 1958, and as vice president of Valley Co., Inc. from 1958 to 1964. He owned and operated a cattle ranch in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

and a farm in

Atchison County, Kansas Atchison County is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and most populous city is Atchison. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 16,348. The county was named in honor of Dav ...

, where he was a member of the Atchison School Board. Mize served as chairman of the board of trustees of Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison. He also served as member of the School of Business Administration Advisory Board and the athletic board of the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

, and was president of the school's alumni association. In addition, Mize was a member of the

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded in 1848, and currently headquartered, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, alo ...

social fraternity. Mize was an active member of the Episcopal Church. In addition, he was a member of the Kansas Farm Bureau,

Kansas Chamber of Commerce Kansas Chamber of Commerce (KCC) is a statewide business and industrial coalition in the state of Kansas. History KCC was founded in 1924 by representatives of 40 local chambers of commerce, who met in Hutchinson, Kansas. The founders focused ...

Elks Club The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE), commonly known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks, is an American fraternal order and charitable organization founded in 1868 in New York City. Originally established as a social club for m ...

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

, and

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States Armed Forces, United States war veterans who fought in wars, Military campaign, campaig ...

Congressman

Mize was elected as a Republican to the Eighty-ninth, Ninetieth, and Ninety-first Congresses (January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1971). Mize served on the House Banking and Currency Committee, and was a member of

House Republican Conference The House Republican Conference is the party caucus for Republicans in the United States House of Representatives. It hosts meetings, and is the primary forum for communicating the party's message to members. The conference produces a daily pu ...

task forces on Aging, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

, and

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. He was also interested in government farm policy, as well as several conservation and flood control projects that were planned for or under construction in his district. In 1970, Mize was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Ninety-second Congress. He served as chairman of the

in 1971.

Death and burial

In retirement, Mize was a resident of first

, and then

. He died in La Jolla of bladder cancer on January 11, 1994. He was buried Mount Vernon Cemetery in Atchison, Kansas.

Family

Mize was married to Elizabeth Muchnic Mize. They later divorced, and in 1985 Elizabeth Mize married Paul Elicker. Chester and Elizabeth Mize were the parents of David, Janet, and Anne.

References

Sources

Internet

* *

Newspapers

External links

* Retrieved on 2009-5-16 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mize, Chester Louis 1917 births 1994 deaths University of Kansas alumni United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II American business executives People from Atchison, Kansas Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas 20th-century American businesspeople Phi Delta Theta members 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives