Roy Harrison McVicker (February 20, 1924 – September 15, 1973) was a

U.S. Representative 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

Early life and education

Born in

Edgewater, Colorado The City of Edgewater is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 5,005 at the 2020 United States Census. Edgewater is surrounded by Denver to the east, Lakewood to the south and wes ...

, his parents were Reverend and Mrs. Roy H. McVicker. McVicker was educated at South Denver High School,

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...

, Columbia College, and graduated from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

in 1950. He was a lay preacher in the Methodist Church beginning at eighteen years of age.

World War II

During the Second World War, 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 ...

in the Southwest Pacific.

Career

He served as assistant professor in psychology at Colorado State College in 1946 and 1947. He worked under President

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

in establishment of the Admiral Nimitz Commission on Internal Security and Civil Rights in 1950 and 1951. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in New York in 1950, and practiced law in

Wheat Ridge, Colorado The City of Wheat Ridge is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Wheat Ridge is located immediately west of Denver and is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The ...

from 1953 to 1964. He served as member of the State senate from 1956 to 64. Mcvicker was narrowly elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Eighty-ninth Congress (January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1967). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1966 to the Ninetieth Congress. He was a contract consultant for the Agency for International Development in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, 1967. He resumed the practice of law.

Personal life

He married Harriet Ripley and they had one child together, Elizabeth. He adopted Harriet’s children from a previous marriage, William and Theresa. They divorced in 1968. Both Harriet and Roy remarried. He married a woman named Mary. He died of an incurable spinal column disease at his home in

Westminster, Colorado The City of Westminster is a home rule municipality located in Adams and Jefferson counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 116,317 at the 2020 United States Census with 71,240 residing in Adams County and 45,077 residing in ...

on September 15, 1973. Documents from the ''Boulder Daily Camera'' are stored at the Carnegie Library in Boulder.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McVicker, Roy H. 1924 births 1973 deaths People from Jefferson County, Colorado Columbia Law School alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Colorado American Methodist clergy Colorado State University faculty Democratic Party Colorado state senators Neurological disease deaths in Colorado Deaths from motor neuron disease 20th-century American politicians Columbia College (New York) alumni 20th-century American clergy