Roy Walter Riehlman (August 26, 1899 – July 16, 1978) was an American businessman and 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

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Early life

R. Walter Riehlman was born in Otisco, New York on August 26, 1899. He was raised in Tully, graduated from Manlius Military Academy in 1919 and Central City Business School of

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

in 1921.

Start of career

Riehlman operated a general store and served as

Postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

of Nedrow from 1921 to 1923. In 1923 he returned to Tully and became owner a commercial baking company, Tully Bakery. From 1933 to 1938, Riehlman was a member of the Tully Board of Education. In 1934 he was elected Chairman of Tully's Republican Committee. He was elected to the

Onondaga County Onondaga County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 476,516. The county seat is Syracuse. The county is part of the Central New York region of the state. Onondaga County is the core of the ...

Board of Supervisors in 1937 and served from 1938 to 1943. From 1943 to 1946 he was Onondaga County Clerk. Riehlman was also active in civic affairs and several local businesses, including serving on the advisory board of the Marine Midland Trust Company and the area board of directors of

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's Lynchburg College.

Congressional career

In 1946 he was elected to Congress as a Republican. He was reelected eight times and served from January 3, 1947, to January 3, 1965, the 80th through 88th Congresses. In 1952 Riehlman was one of the Republicans who visited

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

, then commander of the

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, to ask him to consider running for

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. As a senior member of the Committee on Science and Technology, he was an advocate of the U.S. space program. Riehlman voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

, and

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Post-Congressional career

Riehlman was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1964, losing his seat in that year's Johnson Landslide. He then relocated to

Ormond Beach, Florida Ormond Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. The population was 43,080 at the 2020 census. Ormond Beach lies directly north of Daytona Beach and is a principal city of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach, FL Metrop ...

and returned to the business world, serving as vice president of Lu-Mar Enterprises, a company which owned restaurants and owned and developed commercial real estate.

Death and burial

He died in

on July 16, 1978.Associated Press, Ocala Star-Banner
Former N.Y. Rep. Riehlman Dead
July 17, 1978 Riehlman was buried at Tully Cemetery in Tully.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riehlman, R. Walter 1899 births 1978 deaths People from Otisco, New York People from Ormond Beach, Florida New York (state) postmasters County legislators in New York (state) County clerks in New York (state) Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) People from Onondaga County, New York People from Onondaga, New York People from Tully, New York 20th-century New York (state) politicians 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives