F. Ray Keyser Jr.

Frank Ray Keyser Jr. (August 17, 1927 – March 7, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician from Vermont. He served as Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives from 1959 to 1961, and the 72nd Governor of Vermont from 1961 to 1963.

F. Ray Keyser Jr.
72nd Governor of Vermont
In office January 5, 1961 – January 10, 1963
Lieutenant	Ralph Foote
Preceded by	Robert Stafford
Succeeded by	Philip Hoff
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives
In office 1955–1961
Personal details
Born	Frank Ray Keyser Jr. August 17, 1927 Chelsea, Vermont, U.S.
Died	March 7, 2015 (aged 87) Brandon, Vermont, U.S.
Resting place	Highland Cemetery, Chelsea, Vermont
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Joan Friedgen ​ ​ (m. 1950; died 2002)​ Mary-Louise Keyser ​ (m. 2005)​
Alma mater	Tufts University Boston University

Biography

Early life

The son of Vermont Supreme Court Justice F. Ray Keyser Sr. and Ellen Larkin Keyser, the younger Keyser was born in Chelsea, Vermont on August 17, 1927. He served as a page in the Vermont House of Representatives in 1939. In 1945 he graduated from Montpelier High School. He served in the United States Navy during World War II.[1]

In 1950 Keyser graduated from Tufts University with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and was a member of the Delta Upsilon fraternity.[2] He graduated from Boston University School of Law in 1952 and practiced law in Chelsea.[3]

Keyser married his first wife, the former Joan F. Friedgen (January 20, 1928 – April 17, 2002), an engineer and statistician, on July 15, 1950.[4] The couple has three children - Carol E. Fjeld, Christopher S. Keyser, and Frank Ray Keyser III.[4] Joan Keyser served as the First Lady of Vermont during her husband's tenure as governor.[4]

Career

A Republican, Keyser served three terms in the Vermont House of Representatives (1955–1961), and was Speaker from 1959 to 1961.[5]

In 1960 Keyser defeated the Lieutenant Governor, Robert S. Babcock in the Republican primary for governor.[6] He won the general election, and he served one term, 1961 to 1963.[7] At age 33, Keyser was the youngest person to be elected Vermont's governor.[8] During his term he initiated the Vermont Industrial Building Authority as a way to stimulate economic growth and job creation, and also oversaw expansion of the state park system.[9]

In 1961 Keyser was awarded the honorary degree of LL.D. by Tufts University.[10] Also in 1961, Keyser appeared as a contestant on an episode of To Tell the Truth; five years after an appearance by West Virginia Governor Cecil Underwood, Underwood appeared again; Keyser was one of the two impostors who claimed to be Underwood.[11]

In 1962 Keyser lost his race for reelection to Democrat Philip H. Hoff. Hoff's victory marked the first time Republicans had lost the governorship since the founding of the Republican Party in the 1850s and as of 2015 is the last time an incumbent Governor of Vermont has been defeated for re-election.[12]

From 1965 to 1970, Keyser was Vice President and General Counsel for the Vermont Marble Company, and he was Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board from 1970 to 1979.[13]

From 1967 to 1972, he was on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston[14] and he was a Director of the Central Vermont Public Service Corporation and Chairman of the Board from 1980 to 1997.[15]

In 1980 he organized the Rutland law office of Keyser and Crowley.[16] Keyser also served as a Director of the Union Mutual of Vermont insurance company.[17]

Keyser's first wife, former Vermont First Lady Joan Keyser, died in 2002; the couple had three children.[4] He married Mary Lou (Underhill) Keyser in 2005.

A longtime resident of Proctor,[18] Keyser died at his daughter's home in Brandon on March 7, 2015 at the age of 87.[19][20] He was buried at Highland Cemetery in Chelsea.[21]

References

1. Vermont Secretary of State, Vermont Legislative Directory, 1955, page 691
2. Tufts University Alumni Archived June 17, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Biography, F. Ray Keyser Jr., accessed June 13, 2012
3. American Bar Association Journal, Our Younger Lawyers, July, 1962, page 681
4. "Joan F. Keyser obituary". The Herald of Randolph. April 25, 2002. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
5. National Governors Association, Biography, F. Ray Keyser Jr., accessed June 13, 2012
6. Associated, Press (September 21, 1960). "Ray Keyser is Official GOP Winner". Bennington Banner. Bennington, VT. p. 15.
7. Samuel B. Hand, The Star That Set: The Vermont Republican Party, 1854-1974, 2003, page 235
8. Associated Press, Vermont Elects Youngest Governor in Its History, Lewiston Journal, November 8, 1960
9. "Biography: F. Ray Keyser". NGA.org. National Governors Association. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
10. "Honorary Degree Recipients". Tufts University: Office of the Trustees. Tufts University. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
11. "To Tell the Truth - 5th Anniversary; PANEL: Dina Merrill, Johnny Carson, Betty White (Dec 18, 1961)". YouTube. Retrieved July 19, 2016.
12. Samuel B. Hand, Anthony Marro, Stephen C. Terry, Philip Hoff: How Red Turned Blue in the Green Mountain State, 2011, page 11
13. John J. Duffy, Samuel B. Hand, Ralph H. Orth, The Vermont Encyclopedia, 2003, page 176
14. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Annual Report, 1972, page 287
15. "CENTRAL VERMONT PUBLIC SERVICE CORP, Form DEF 14A, Filing Date Mar 22, 1996". secdatabase.com. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
16. The Taft Group, The Big Book of Library Grant Money, 2004-2005, 2004, page 247
17. Union Mutual of Vermont Archived January 21, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, Officers and Board of Directors, accessed June 13, 2012
18. O'Connor, Kevin (March 8, 2015). "Former Vt. Gov. F. Ray Keyser Jr. dies". VTDigger.org. Montpelier, VT.
19. "Obituary, Frank Ray Keyser Jr". Burlington Free Press. Burlington, VT. March 8, 2015.
20. Ring, Wilson (Associated Press) (March 8, 2015). "Former Republican Vermont Gov. F. Ray Keyser Jr. Dies at 88". ABCnews.go.com.
21. Sun Community News Staff (March 9, 2015). "Remembering Gov. Keyser: One-term governor's defeat marked end of GOP reign in Vermont". Sun Community News & Printing. Middlebury, VT.

Sources

• Vermont Folk Life Center, Biography, F. Ray Keyser Jr.

External links

• The Governors: F. Ray Keyser . Chris Graff interview with former Governor F. Ray. Keyser Jr. Vermont Public Television. 1989.
• F. Ray Keyser Jr. at Find a Grave