Charles Frederick Kurfess (February 1, 1930 – March 1, 2024) was an American politician. He was a member of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

, serving as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

for part of his career. He was first elected in 1956 to an at-large district, and was elected eleven times following. Following his retirement from politics, he went on to serve as a judge on the Wood County

Court of Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

. He also worked under presidents

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

and

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

. Born in

Wood County, Ohio Wood County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 132,248. Its county seat is Bowling Green. The county was named for Captain Eleazer D. Wood, the engineer for General William Henry Harrison's ...

, in 1930, Kurfess earned his B.A. degree from

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the ...

, where he was initiated as a member of

Phi Kappa Tau Phi Kappa Tau (), commonly known as Phi Tau (), is a collegiate fraternity located in the United States. The fraternity was founded in 1906. As of November 2022, the fraternity has 161 chartered chapters, 79 active chapters, 6 Associate chapte ...

, and earned his J.D. degree from the Ohio State University Law School in 1957. Kurfess died on March 1, 2024, at the age of 94.Charles F. Kurfess, former Ohio Speaker and judge, dies
/ref>

References

External links

* * * * 1930 births 2024 deaths Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Speakers of the Ohio House of Representatives Bowling Green State University alumni Ohio State University Moritz College of Law alumni People from Wood County, Ohio {{Ohio-OHRepresentative-stub