Chester Louis Mize (December 25, 1917 – January 11, 1994) was a Republican member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. Mize was a native of Atchison, Kansas, and attended the

University of Kansas School of Business The University of Kansas School of Business is a public business school on the main campus of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas. The KU School of Business was founded in 1924 and has more than 100 faculty members and approximately 150 ...

. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and received the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

with

Combat V Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

. After the war, Mize was involved in his family's wholesale hardware business, and was an officer of several other corporations, in addition to owning and operating a farm and a cattle ranch. Mize also served on the Atchison school board, and was active in several other civic organizations, including the board of trustees of Mount St. Scholastica College. In 1964, Mize was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He served three terms, 1965 to 1971, and was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1970. After leaving Congress, Mize served as chairman of the

United States Tariff Commission The United States International Trade Commission (USITC or I.T.C.) is an agency of the United States federal government that advises the legislative and executive branches on matters of trade. It is an independent, bipartisan entity that analyze ...

in 1971. In retirement, he resided in

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the historical city (i.e. in the immediate vicinity of downtown Naples) was 19,115. Naples is a principal city of the Naples-Marco Island, Flori ...

before moving to

La Jolla, California La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

. He died in La Jolla on January 11, 1994, and was buried in Atchison.

Early life

Mize was born in Atchison, Kansas on December 25, 1917. He attended the public schools of Atchison, and graduated from

Atchison High School Atchison High School is a public secondary school in Atchison, Kansas, United States, operated by Atchison USD 409 school district, and serves students of grades 9 to 12. Notable alumni * Chester Mize (1917–1994), Republican member of the U ...

. He then studied at the

from 1935 to 1939.

World War II

He joined the

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sele ...

in 1940, where he served on active duty in the South Pacific Theater from 1941 to 1945 on board the USS ''

Hornet Hornets (insects in the genus ''Vespa'') are the largest of the eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to their close relatives yellowjackets. Some species can reach up to in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by th ...

''. He was released to inactive service as a

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank i ...

at the end of the war, and was awarded the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

with

Career

After

, Mize served in a number of leadership positions in business, including succeeding his father as treasurer of Blish, Mize & Silliman wholesale hardware. He served as vice president of Locomotive Finished Materials Co. from 1951 to 1958, and as vice president of Valley Co., Inc. from 1958 to 1964. He owned and operated a cattle ranch in

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

and a farm in Atchison County, Kansas, where he was a member of the Atchison School Board. Mize served as chairman of the board of trustees of Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison. He also served as member of the School of Business Administration Advisory Board and the athletic board of the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

, and was president of the school's alumni association. In addition, Mize was a member of the

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...

social fraternity. Mize was an active member of the Episcopal Church. In addition, he was a member of the Kansas Farm Bureau,

Kansas Chamber of Commerce Kansas Chamber of Commerce (KCC) is a statewide business and industrial coalition in the state of Kansas. History KCC was founded in 1924 by representatives of 40 local chambers of commerce, who met in Hutchinson, Kansas. The founders focused ...

, Elks Club,

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

, and

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or a ...

Congressman

Mize was elected as a Republican to the Eighty-ninth, Ninetieth, and Ninety-first Congresses (January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1971). Mize served on the House Banking and Currency Committee, and was a member of House Republican Conference task forces on Aging, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

, and

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

. He was also interested in government farm policy, as well as several conservation and flood control projects that were planned for or under construction in his district. In 1970, Mize was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Ninety-second Congress. He served as chairman of the

in 1971.

Death and burial

In retirement, Mize was a resident of first

, and then

. He died in La Jolla of bladder cancer on January 11, 1994. He was buried Mount Vernon Cemetery in Atchison, Kansas.

Family

Mize was married to Elizabeth Muchnic Mize. They later divorced, and in 1985 Elizabeth Mize married Paul Elicker. Chester and Elizabeth Mize were the parents of David, Janet, and Anne.

References

Sources

Internet

* *

Newspapers

External links

* Retrieved on 2009-5-16 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mize, Chester Louis 1917 births 1994 deaths University of Kansas alumni United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II American business executives People from Atchison, Kansas Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kansas 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American politicians