Donald Kirk Enoch (June 22, 1916 – June 24, 2010) was an American politician who served as the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

, from 1969 until 1970. Enoch also served as Wichita's City Commissioner for three separate terms: (1967–1968, 1968–1969, 1970–1971). He is credited as one of the key people who established the Wichita River Festival.

Biography

Early life

Enoch was born on June 22, 1916, in

Neosho, Missouri Neosho (; originally or ) is the most populous city in Newton County, Missouri, United States, which it serves as the county seat. With a population of 12,590 as of the 2020 census, the city is a part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Area, ...

. He moved to Wichita with his family when he was an elementary school student. Enoch graduated from Wichita North High School. He received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in music from the University of Wichita (now called

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

), graduating

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

. Enoch began his career as a band director at Atwood High School during the late 1930s. The school's band won Kansas and national awards. Enoch left his teaching position to enlist in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

at the beginning of

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 ...

. He worked as an aircraft instructor and

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

in the Air Corps during the war. He left the Army Air Corp following the end of World War II. Enoch moved back to Wichita and acquired the Wichita Brush Company, his family's business. The company, which would later be renamed the Wichita Brush and Chemical Company, became a maintenance and cleaning supply business under Enoch. By the 1960s, Enoch had all of his company's chemicals into biodegradable products, including the cleaning solutions,

soaps Soap is a surfactant cleaning compound used for personal or other cleaning. SOAP is a computer network protocol (originally an acronym for Simple Object Access Protocol), a protocol specification in computer networks. Soap or SOAP may also refer ...

and waxes.

Politics

Enoch was first elected to the Wichita City Commission in 1967. Enoch soon developed an idea to hold a parade and festival along the city's

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in Colorado, specifically ...

waterfront to celebrate Wichita's centennial. Enoch, who became Wichita's 61st mayor in 1969, oversaw the Centennial of Progress Pageant, which evolved into the annual Wichita River Festival. Enoch envisioned the Wichita River Festival as a vehicle for potential urban renewal and economic growth for the city. Don Enoch died on June 24, 2010, two days after his 94th birthday. He was survived by his wife of 54 years, Margery Trively; three sons –

Craig T. Enoch Craig Trively Enoch (born April 3, 1950) is a former justice of the Texas Supreme Court, having served from 1993 until his retirement in 2003. Career Before service on the Supreme Court, he was chief justice of the Texas state Fifth District Cou ...

, a retired

Texas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court o ...

justice, Dr. Rolland Enoch and Mark Enoch and one daughter – Dawn Moore; 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

References

External links

City of Wichita: List of Former Mayors 1950–1989
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enoch, Don 1916 births 2010 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Kansas People from Neosho, Missouri Mayors of Wichita, Kansas Wichita State University alumni 20th-century American businesspeople United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II