Donald Owen Concannon (October 28, 1927 – March 9, 2013) was an American attorney and unsuccessful political candidate for the

United States Republican Party The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Act ...

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 th ...

Early life

Concannon was born on a farm 20 miles outside Garden City, Kansas. He enlisted 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 ...

on May 1, 1945, and served in the South Pacific. After

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 opposing ...

, he studied at Garden City Junior College and

Washburn University Washburn University (WU) is a public university in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,100 ...

Career

Political career

Following his demobilization after World War II, Concannon moved to

Hugoton, Kansas Hugoton is a city in and the county seat of Stevens County, Kansas, Stevens County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,747. History Settlers from McPherson, Kansas establi ...

, and was elected Stevens County attorney from 1953 to 1957. He was also elected the city attorney for Satanta, Kansas, from 1956 to 1962. He was also elected the President of the Kansas Young Republican Federation in 1959 and served until 1961. He was named the Chairman of the Kansas Presidential Electors for the 1960 United States presidential election. He served on Democratic governor Robert Docking'sHighway Advisory Commission from 1965 to 1966. He would be elected the chairman of the

Kansas Republican Party The Kansas Republican Party is the state affiliate political party in Kansas of the United States Republican Party. The Kansas Republican Party was organized in May 1859. At the state level, the party is largely split between its moderate and con ...

serving between 1968 and 1970. He was the leader of the

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 ...

campaign in Kansas for the 1972 United States presidential election and the

Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

campaign in Kansas for the

1976 Republican Party presidential primaries From August 16 to August 19, 1976, voters of the Republican Party chose its nominee for president in the 1976 United States presidential election. The major candidates were incumbent President Gerald Ford and former Governor of California Ronald R ...

. He would have an unsuccessful candidate in the

primaries Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

during the 1974 gubernatorial elections, narrowly losing to

Robert Frederick Bennett 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. He married Joan Gregory, whom he met at ...

by just 0.26% of the vote, or 530 individual votes out of 207,937 votes cast. He supported Sam Hardage in the 1982 Kansas gubernatorial election and worked on his unsuccessful campaign. From 1986 to 1988 he worked as Chairman of Governor Mike Hayden's Task Force on the Future of Rural Communities as well as being a member of the Kansas Commission for the Bicentennial of U.S. Constitution. In 1992 he lead the unsuccessful

West Kansas West Kansas was a proposed state of the United States, advocated by a short-lived secessionist movement in the 1990s. This movement was in reaction to a 1992 school finance law that disadvantaged rural schools. The proposed state would have consi ...

secessionist movement which sought to create a separate state for the more rural South-West portion of the state.

Banking career

Alongside his lengthy political career, Concannon also worked for a number of banks. From 1965 to 1966 and from 1972 to 1974 he was the President and Chairman of the Fortune Insurance Company. In 1974 he was named to the Board of Directors for Norton Bankshares as well as the First State Bank of

Norton, Kansas Norton is a city in, and the county seat of, Norton County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,747. History Norton was founded in 1872. Like the county, it was named for Capt. Orloff Norton. The f ...

, the State bank of Satana, Kansas and the First National Bank of

Attica, Kansas Attica is a city in Harper County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 516. The town was named after the historical region of Attica, in Greece. History Land for the community was purchased in late J ...

Personal life

Concannon was a close personal friend to

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Jerry Moran Gerald Wesley Moran ( ; born May 29, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Kansas, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was chair of the National Republican Senator ...

who described him as "a great man, a strong advocate and a dedicated public servant." He was also a member of the American Legion and was a Freemason. He was a lifelong member of the

Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta Phi () is a professional law fraternity and a member of the Professional Fraternity Association. Delta Theta Phi is the only one of the two major law fraternities to charter chapters (senates) in the United States at non-American Bar ...

and

Kappa Sigma Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and col ...

fraternities A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity ...

. He was married to Patricia Née June Davis from November 23rd, 1952 until her death on February 25, 2001. He remarried Sharon Née Collins on September 1, 2002. He had two sons Chris, who predeceased him, and Craig as well as a daughter Debra Traster.

Election results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Concannon, Don. O. 1927 births 2013 deaths People from Garden City, Kansas Garden City Community College alumni Washburn University alumni Kansas lawyers Kansas Republicans People from Stevens County, Kansas United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century American lawyers