Stanley Jerome Gaetz (April 25, 1914 – April 9, 1964) was an American railroader and politician from

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

. A member of the Republican Party, Gaetz served in the

North Dakota Senate The North Dakota State Senate is the upper house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly, smaller than the North Dakota House of Representatives. Per the state constitution, North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative distri ...

in 1964 and was mayor of the town of

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

from 1958 until 1962. Gaetz briefly ran for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

in 1964. Gaetz died on April 9, 1964, after giving a speech in support of

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and major general in the United States Air Force, Air Force Reserve who served as a United States senator from 1953 to 1965 and 1969 to 1987, and was the Re ...

at the state party convention. His son Don Gaetz later served as the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

from 2012 until 2014, while his grandson

Matt Gaetz Matthew Louis Gaetz II ( ; born May 7, 1982) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the U.S. representative for from 2017 until his resignation in 2024. His district included all of Escambia, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa counties, ...

served as 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 2017 until 2024.

Biography

Early life, education, and career

Stanley Jerome Gaetz was born on April 25, 1914, in

Grand Forks Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in the state, after Fargo and Bismarck. Grand For ...

National Personnel Records Center The National Personnel Records Center(s) (NPRC) is an agency of the National Archives and Records Administration, created in 1966. It is part of the United States National Archives National Archives facilities#Federal Records Centers, federal recor ...

; St. Louis, Missouri; ''WWII Draft Registration Cards for North Dakota, 10/16/1940-03/31/1947''; Record Group: ''Records of the

Selective Service System The Selective Service System (SSS) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government that maintains a database of registered male U.S. Citizenship of the United States, citizens and o ...

, 147''; Box: ''34''

; St. Louis, Missouri; ''Applications for Headstones, 1/1/1925 - 6/30/1970''; NAID: ''NAID 596118''; Record Group Number: ''92''; Record Group Title: ''Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General'' Gaetz attended

Grand Forks Central High School Grand Forks Central High School (GFC) is a public senior high school in the Grand Forks Public Schools district. It is located in downtown Grand Forks, North Dakota. History GFC was originally built in 1882 at a cost of $26,000. Its first gra ...

and

Minot High School Minot High School (MHS) is a public high school in Minot, North Dakota, and serves the majority of the city. A second public high school,Minot North opened in August 2024 with students from the northern portion of the city and Minot Air For ...

, and he graduated from the North Dakota State College of Science in 1938. Gaetz later became an employee of the Great Northern Railway. On August 27, 1942, Gaetz enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, becoming a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

in the 14th Traffic Regulation Group. 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 ...

, Gaetz was the trainmaster of the

White Pass and Yukon Route The White Pass and Yukon Route (WP&Y, WP&YR) is a Canadian and U.S. Class III narrow-gauge railroad linking the port of Skagway, Alaska, with Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon. An isolated system, it has no direct connection to any other rail ...

, a railway line between

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

and

Skagway The Municipality and Borough of Skagway is a borough in Alaska on the Alaska Panhandle. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,240, up from 968 in 2010. The population doubles in the summer tourist season in order to deal with the large ...

that had been taken over by the army during the war. Gaetz was discharged from the army on February 3, 1946. Following the war, Gaetz returned to Great Northern, where he served as a district roadmaster for the town of

. In this position, Gaetz guaranteed the ability for Native American laborers to settle in Rugby. Gaetz also became a horse breeder, selling

Morgan horse The Morgan horse is one of the earliest horse breeds developed in the United States. Tracing back to the foundation bloodstock, foundation sire Figure (horse), Figure, later named Justin Morgan after his best-known owner, Morgans served ma ...

s in 1953.

Political career and death

A member of the Republican Party, Gaetz served as mayor of Rugby for two terms between 1958 and 1962. Rugby, which was a rural agricultural town with a population of around 3,700, was claimed to be the geographic center of North America; Gaetz proposed taking advantage of this fact to turn the town into a tourist attraction. His plan called for the construction of a $20,000 museum, as well as a trailer park, exhibition building, garden, and zoo. Gaetz's political slogan was "Unbought, unbossed, unbowed". During his mayoralty, Gaetz threatened to sue the Minot school board when the board considered unfairly firing

Wayne Sanstead Wayne Godfrey Sanstead (born April 16, 1935) served as the North Dakota Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1985 to January 1, 2013, and from 1972 to 1981 as the 31st lieutenant governor of North Dakota. Early life Sanstead was born in Hot ...

, a high school debate coach who had been elected as a Democratic

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

. Gaetz would later call himself "North Dakota's most progressive mayor". In 1960, Gaetz was appointed by Governor John E. Davis to the Governor's Committee on Children and Youth, serving on the Special Needs of Indian Youth subcommittee. Gaetz served in the

in 1964. That year, Gaetz ran for

, challenging incumbent Frank A. Wenstrom in the Republican

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

. At the Pierce County Republican Party convention in March, the county party elected Gaetz as its chairman and endorsed his candidacy for lieutenant governor. However, Gaetz withdrew from the race two days later, endorsing Wenstrom. On April 9, 1964, Gaetz attended the

North Dakota Republican Party The North Dakota Republican Party is the North Dakota affiliate of the United States Republican Party. Its platform is conservative. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling North Dakota's at-large U.S. House seat, both U.S ...

convention in Bismarck. Gaetz, who had been the chairman of North Dakotans for Goldwater, gave a speech urging the convention to endorse U.S. Senator

for president. Following the speech, Gaetz walked into the crowd to shake hands, whereupon he suffered a heart attack and collapsed. Gaetz was taken to a local hospital, but died shortly afterwards at the age of 49. Gaetz was buried in the Rosehill Cemetery in

Minot Minot ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ward County, North Dakota, United States, in the state's north-central region. It is most widely known for the Air Force base approximately north of the city. With a population of 48,377 at the 2 ...

Personal life

Gaetz married Olive Knutson in 1942. They had three children, including Don Gaetz, who would later become the

of the

. Gaetz's grandson

was elected to 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 ...

in 2016 and served four terms.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaetz, Jerry 1914 births 1964 deaths 20th-century members of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly American railroaders J Mayors of places in North Dakota Military personnel from North Dakota Minot High School alumni North Dakota State College of Science alumni People from Minot, North Dakota People from Rugby, North Dakota Politicians from Grand Forks, North Dakota Republican Party North Dakota state senators United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War II