Denver David Hargis (July 22, 1921 – March 16, 1989) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

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 ...

from 1959 to 1961. Born in

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, his maternal grandfather and grandmother were each from

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. In 1922, when Hargis was one year old, his parents moved to

Coffeyville, Kansas Coffeyville is a city in southeastern Montgomery County, Kansas, United States, located along the Verdigris River in the state's southeastern region. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,826. Coffeyville is the most pop ...

. He attended Coffeyville schools. He enlisted 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 ...

in January 1941 and served until October 1943. He graduated from

Washburn University Washburn University (WU), formally Washburn University of Topeka, is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs as well as professional programs in law and business. The university enroll ...

Topeka, Kansas Topeka ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 cen ...

, with a B.A. in 1946, and from its law school, with a LL.B. in 1948. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1948 and commenced his practice of law in

. In February 1949, he was appointed district supervisor of the Census Bureau for the Third District of Kansas. He was promoted to administrative officer for

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, and

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, and was later promoted to regional assistant and served until December 1950. He served as mayor of

from 1953 to 1958. He was appointed by Governor Docking as a member of the Arkansas River Basin Committee 1957–59. He served as delegate at large to Democratic National Convention in 1960. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1956 to the Eighty-fifth Congress. Hargis was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the Eighty-sixth Congress (January 3, 1959 – January 3, 1961). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1960 to the

Eighty-seventh Congress The 87th United States Congress was a meeting of the United States Congress, legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D ...

. He served as a consultant for the

Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, ...

from 1961 to 1962, and the Department of Commerce from 1962 to 1966. He was the manager and later owner of several title insurance companies in Florida until his retirement in 1985. On October 17, 1965, Hargis's estranged wife, Charlene June Hargis, shot and killed the couple's four children, three daughters and one son, at their

Laurel, Maryland Laurel is a city in Maryland, United States, located midway between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore on the banks of the Patuxent River, in northern Prince George's County. Its population was 30,060 at the 2020 census. Founded as a mill town i ...

apartment. The former congressman was living with another woman in

Vienna, Virginia Vienna () is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Vienna has a population of 16,473. Significantly more people live in ZIP codes with the Vienna postal addresses (22180, 22181, ...

at the time. Charlene Hargis was charged with four counts of murder and pleaded

insanity Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

. While at Spring Grove Hospital, she attempted suicide by slashing her wrists and had to be sedated. She was found guilty of lesser charges of manslaughter and was sentenced to four concurrent terms of ten years in prison. He was a resident of

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

until his death there in 1989. Hargis was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

, Section 37, Grave 921.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hargis, Denver David 1921 births 1989 deaths People from Coffeyville, Kansas People from Key West, Florida People from Sarasota, Florida Military personnel from Florida Military personnel from Kansas Washburn University alumni Mayors of places in Kansas Florida Democrats Kansas lawyers United States Navy personnel of World War II American people of English descent American people of Spanish descent Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas Burials at Arlington National Cemetery 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives