Robert Frederick Bennett (May 23, 1927 – October 9, 2000) was an American lawyer and the 39th governor of Kansas from 1975 to 1979.

Biography

Bennett was born May 23, 1927, in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

. He married Joan Gregory, whom he met at Shawnee Mission Rural High School while participating in

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse, discussion, and oral addresses on a particular topic or collection of topics, often with a moderator and an audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for opposing viewpoints. Historica ...

. They had four children: Robert F. (junior), Virginia L., Kathleen, and Patricia. He earned a B.A. in 1950 and a law degree in 1952 from 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 ...

. He married a second time in 1971 to Olivia Fisher.

Career

Bennett served in the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

in China 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 he also served in the U. S. Marines again during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, was wounded and received a

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

. In 1952, Bennett began his own law firm with Robert Lytle. The firm continued for more than 40 years until it merged with Lathrop & Gage in the mid-1990s. He was a council member from 1955 to 1957 in Prairie Village. From 1957 to 1965, Bennett served as mayor of

Prairie Village, Kansas Prairie Village is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and located within the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 22,957. History After the successful development of the Coun ...

(a suburb of Kansas City). A member of the Kansas State Senate from 1965 to 1975, Bennett was known for his classic cowboy boots, cowboy hat, and beard. He was an eloquent speaker and would often send reporters scrambling for dictionaries. He was president of the state senate when he was elected to the governorship in 1974. This was the first election that candidates for governor and lieutenant governor ran as a team as well as for a four-year term rather than a two-year term. During his tenure, he reformed operations in the governor's office to make heads of state agencies more responsible to the governor. In 1978, he lost his re-election bid to John W. Carlin and returned to his own practice and home. From 1982 to 1983, Bennett served as chair of the Kansas Republican Party.

Death

Bennett died October 9, 2000, of lung cancer at the St. Joseph's Medical Center in Kansas City and was buried in Corinth Cemetery in Prairie Village, Kansas. An avid hunter and fisherman, he was also a member of the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

, the

American Judicature Society The American Judicature Society (AJS) is an independent, non-partisan membership organization working nationally to protect the integrity of the American justice system. AJS's membership — including judges, lawyers, and members of the public — ...

, the

Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, and the Optimist Club.

References

External links

*
http://www.kansas.gov/KansapediaPublications concerning Kansas Governor Bennett's administration available via the KGI Online Library
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Robert 1927 births 2000 deaths United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II American Presbyterians Deaths from lung cancer in Missouri Republican Party governors of Kansas Kansas city council members Kansas lawyers Republican Party Kansas state senators Lawyers from Kansas City, Missouri Mayors of Prairie Village, Kansas Military personnel from Kansas Politicians from Kansas City, Missouri Presidents of the Kansas Senate United States Marines University of Kansas alumni 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century mayors of places in Kansas 20th-century members of the Kansas Legislature