Richard J. Greuel (April 18, 1928 – December 3, 2013) was an American radio announcer, real estate businessman, and Democratic politician in the U.S. territory and state of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. Greuel served as speaker of the Alaska Territorial House of Representatives during the last territorial legislature, and would also serve in the

Alaska House of Representatives The Alaska State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Alaska Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alaska. The House is composed of 40 members, each of whom represents a district of approximately 17,756 people per ...

following statehood.

Biography

Richard Greuel was born in New Holstein,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

on April 18, 1928. Greuel came to

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

through his service in the U.S. Army and stayed there after leaving the Army. He spent a number of years working for Fairbanks radio station

KFAR KFAR is a commercial radio station programming news/talk in Fairbanks, Alaska, United States, broadcasting on 660 AM. Founded in 1939 by industrialist Austin E. Lathrop, KFAR is the oldest radio station in Fairbanks and one of the oldest in ...

as an announcer and program director. He would later go on to work in

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

. Greuel was

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Political career

Greuel was a member of the Alaska Territorial House of Representatives from 1953 to 1958, serving as Speaker from 1957 to 1958. He was later a delegate to the

1960 Democratic National Convention The 1960 Democratic National Convention was held in Los Angeles, California, on July 11–15, 1960. It nominated Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts for president and Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas for vice president. In ...

that nominated

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

. Greuel would later serve in the state House of Representatives in 1959. He also served on one of Governor

William A. Egan William Allen Egan (October 8, 1914 – May 6, 1984) was an American Democratic politician. He served as the first governor of the State of Alaska from January 3, 1959 to 1966 and 1970 to 1974, as well as a shadow U.S. Senator from Alaska Terri ...

's advisory redistricting boards.

Personal life

Richard Greuel was first married to Viola "Val" Forth, who was a fellow announcer at KFAR. He later married Patricia McSwaggerty in June 1962 and they remained married until his death on December 3, 2013. He was in the real estate business in

and also served on the Fairbanks City Council from 1951 until 1957 and in 1973. He died in

Anoka, Minnesota Anoka ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Anoka County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 17,142 at the 2010 census. Anoka is the " Halloween Capital of the World" because it hosted one of the first Halloween parades in 1920. It ...

.Richard "Dick" Greuel-obituary-Newniner.com
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References

External links

Richard Greuel
at ''100 Years of Alaska's Legislature'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Greuel, Richard 1928 births American real estate businesspeople Businesspeople from Fairbanks, Alaska 2013 deaths Members of the Alaska Territorial Legislature 20th-century American legislators People from New Holstein, Wisconsin Politicians from Fairbanks, Alaska Radio personalities from Alaska Alaska city council members Speakers of the Alaska House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Alaska House of Representatives 20th-century American businesspeople