Norman David Shumway (July 28, 1934 – November 1, 2022) was an American lawyer and politician who served six terms as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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 1979 to 1991.

Early life

Shumway was born on July 28, 1934, in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. In 1952, Shumway graduated from Stockton High School in

Stockton, California Stockton is a city in and the county seat of San Joaquin County, California, San Joaquin County in the Central Valley (California), Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. Stockton was founded by Carlos Maria Weber in 1849 after he acquir ...

Education

In 1954, Shumway earned an Associate of Arts degree from Stockton College. In 1960, Shumway earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in Political Science from

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

. In 1963, Shumway earned a J.D. degree from

University of California, Hastings College of the Law The University of California, Hastings College of the Law (UC Hastings) is a Public university, public Law school in the United States, law school in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings, UC Hastings was the ...

Career

Prior to entering public office, Shumway was a partner in a Stockton law firm. He taught legal courses at

San Joaquin Delta College San Joaquin Delta College (Delta College) is a public community college in Stockton, California. It was founded in 1935 as Stockton Junior College. The college serves a district area that includes all of San Joaquin County and parts of Alameda, ...

and at Humphreys College, and held a lifetime California teaching credential. In 1974, Shumway was appointed by Governor

Ronald 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 ...

to the

San Joaquin County San Joaquin County (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''San Joaquín'', meaning "Joachim, St. Joachim"), officially the County of San Joaquin, is a county (United States), county in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 20 ...

Board of Supervisors. Shumway was elected to the Board in 1974 and in 1978. He was Vice chairman of the board in 1977 and chairman in 1978.

Tenure in Congress

On November 7, 1978, Shumway won the election and became a Republican member of the

for

California's 14th congressional district California's 14th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat, has represented the district since January 2023. Currently, the 14th district is in Alameda County and includes th ...

. Shumway defeated John J. McFall and George Darold Waldron with 53.39% of the votes. Shumway won reelection five times but chose not to seek re-election in 1990. A post office building in Stockton was named for him. As a member of the House Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs, Shumway served as the ranking minority member of the Subcommittee on Economic Stabilization. He was also a member of the Subcommittee on International Trade, Investment and Monetary Policy. As a member of the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, Shumway served as the ranking minority member of the Subcommittee on Oceanography. He further served as a member of the

House Select Committee on Aging The United States House Permanent Select Committee on Aging was a permanent select committee of the United States House of Representatives between 1974 and 1992. The committee was created with the intent not of forming legislation directly, but ...

. During his years in Congress, Shumway was one of only two members of the House of Representatives who were fluent in spoken

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

. Consequently, he was selected many times to lead delegations of his colleagues to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

to meet with representatives of

Japanese government The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...

, industry and

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

. He participated in many forums and seminars, in both the United States and Japan, dealing with trade conflicts, defense issues, and the U.S.-Japan relationship in general. He was asked by President Ronald Reagan to represent him at the funeral of former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Takeo Miki was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1974 until 1976. Early life and family Takeo Miki was born on 17 March 1907, in Gosho, Tokushima Prefecture (present-day Awa, Tokushima), the only child of farmer-merchant H ...

. Shumway was active in promoting several parliamentary exchanges between

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

members and members of the US Congress, and helped to host Diet members as they visited the United States. He has traveled extensively in Japan, and remained a student of

Japanese culture The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Historical overview The ance ...

After Congress

After retiring from Congress, Shumway was appointed by Governor

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 36th governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as a United States senator from California bet ...

to the Public Utilities Commission for the State of California. He served as a Commissioner for four years. Governor Wilson then appointed him to the California Narcotic Addict Evaluation Authority, where he served for one year as a

parole board A parole board is a panel of people who decide whether an offender should be released from prison on parole after serving at least a minimum portion of their sentence as prescribed by the sentencing judge. Parole boards are used in many jurisdiction ...

member. President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

appointed Shumway to the Board of Directors of

Legal Services Corporation The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is a publicly funded, 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation established by the United States Congress. It seeks to ensure equal access to justice under the law for all Americans by providing funding for civil legal ...

. He has also served on the boards of

U.S. English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances ...

Goodwill Industries Goodwill Industries International Inc., often shortened in speech and writing to Goodwill (stylized as goodwill), is an American nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides job training, employment placement services, and other community-bas ...

of America and Omniplex, Ltd. He was a member of the Board of Visitors of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

from 1989 to 1991. He has served on the board of trustees of the Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy and was a member of the Sons of Utah Pioneers.

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

and numerous volunteer associations have honored him. Following his years of service to his church, he became a member of the President's National Advisory Board at Utah Valley University and was president (2014 to 2018) of Mikuni International College in Yuzawa, Niigata Ken, Japan.

Personal life and death

In 1960, Shumway married Luana Schow. They have six children. Shumway and his family lived in

Bountiful, Utah Bountiful is Davis city. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 42,552, a three percent increase over the 2000 figure of 41,301. The city grew rapidly during the suburb growth of the late 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s and was Davis County's l ...

. Shumway has been active as a lifelong member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

. He served as a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

to Japan from 1954 to 1958, and as a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the church from 1969 to 1974. He has been a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

instructor,

high priest The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious caste. Ancient Egypt In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods rever ...

group leader, gospel doctrine teacher,

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

organist, high councilman and a counselor in a

stake presidency A stake is an administrative unit composed of multiple congregations in certain denominations of the Latter Day Saint movement. The name "stake" derives from the Book of Isaiah: "enlarge the place of thy tent; stretch forth the curtains of thine h ...

. From 1996 to 1999 he was president of the Japan Hiroshima Mission. In 2000–2001 he was the Public Affairs Director for the Asia North Area, stationed in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. He and his wife were Hosting Directors for the First Presidency of the Church from 2002 through 2005. From 2006 to 2008 they served as Church representatives to 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 ...

in New York City. They served in the Boston Massachusetts Mission from 2010 to 2012, where they were proselyting and leadership support missionaries. Shumway served as first counselor in the Lynnfield Ward ward bishopric while a missionary and his wife taught early morning seminary. During 2013 and 2014, the Shumways served a mission in the Japan Tokyo Temple. In October 2009, Shumway published his 570-page autobiography, ''Times and Seasons of Norman D. Shumway.'' He later was the major compiler of ''Pioneer Life in Shumway, Arizona.'' In his later years, Shumway continued to share his passion for his country with all he came in contact with. He reminded his grandchildren to be “loyal to the constitution and the founding fathers that did so much for our country through God’s power.” Shumway was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor in the fall of 2022. He died on the morning of November 1, 2022, at the age of 88.

Legacy

* Norman D. Shumway Station of the U.S. Post Office.

References

External links

California Public Utilities Commission statement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shumway, Norman D. 1934 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American politicians 20th-century Mormon missionaries American Mormon missionaries in Japan American Mormon missionaries in the United States American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Deaths from brain tumor Latter Day Saints from Arizona Latter Day Saints from California California lawyers County supervisors in California Church Educational System instructors People from Bountiful, Utah Politicians from Stockton, California Politicians from Phoenix, Arizona University of Utah alumni University of California, Hastings College of the Law alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California