Stanley K. Hathaway
Stanley Knapp Hathaway (July 19, 1924 – October 4, 2005) was an American politician who served as the 27th Governor of Wyoming from 1967 to 1975, and would later serve as United States Secretary of the Interior under President Gerald Ford from June 12 to October 9, 1975.
Stanley K. Hathaway
Early life and military service[edit]
Stanley K. Hathaway, or "Stan" as he was known to most of his friends and associates, was born on July 19, 1924, in Osceola, Nebraska, the fifth of six children born to Lily (Koehler) and Robert C. Knapp.[1] Following his mother's death when he was two years old, he was adopted by a cousin, Velma, and her husband Franklin Earl Hathaway. The couple homesteaded and farmed near Huntley, Wyoming. Stan Hathaway received his early education near there in one-room country schools at Table Mountain and at New Fairview, and then attended Huntley High School, where he graduated as class valedictorian in 1941.[2]
After enrolling briefly at the University of Wyoming, Hathaway left school in early 1942 to enlist in the Army Air Corps following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December, 1941, and was trained as a radio operator and gunner. He was assigned to the Eighth Air Force's 401st Bomb Group, flying B-17 Bombers from England, and took part in 35 combat missions over France and Germany, with his unit often suffering heavy casualties.[3]
On one mission under General Jimmy Doolittle over Leipzig, Germany, Hathaway's plane and crew took heavy enemy fire while making a series of three runs at their target, an oil refinery. After managing to return to base, the crew counted 115 holes in their B-17 from Nazi fighter-plane rounds and anti-aircraft flak. During their entire Leipzig mission under General Doolittle, a total of 56 American planes and more than 500 American troops were lost, and, overall, Hathaway's unit suffered a 50% casualty rate during World War II.[2]
In the fall of 1944, his crew was on a mission to Frankfurt, Germany, when their plane was shot down by anti-aircraft fire. They lost three engines before crash-landing in a field in France, where they were eventually rescued by the French Resistance.[2] For his service during the War, Hathaway was the recipient of the French Croix de Guerre, U.S. Presidential Unit Citations, and five Air Medals.[3]
After his discharge from the Army Air Corps, Hathaway enrolled at the University of Nebraska, where he earned a bachelor's degree. He graduated from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Law in 1950. While there, he met Roberta "Bobby" Harley, and they were married on November 25, 1948. Following his graduation from law school, the couple moved to Torrington, Wyoming, where Hathaway established a law practice, and his wife worked primarily as an English teacher at Torrington Junior High School. They had two daughters, Susan and Sandra.
Later years and death[edit]
After returning to Wyoming in October 1975, Hathaway co-founded the law firm of Hathaway, Speight and Kunz in Cheyenne, and returned to the practice of law. He also served on the Board of directors of the PacifiCorp, of the Nerco, Inc., of the First Wyoming Bank, and of the Apache Corporation, and was named an Emeritus Member of the University of Wyoming's Ruckelshaus Institute for Environment and Natural Resources.
In 2003, Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal awarded the "Governor's Art Award for Excellence in the Arts" to Stan and Bobby Hathaway.[7] In 2005, the Wyoming Legislature authorized $400 million for a "Hathaway Student Scholarship Endowment Account". Under this program, Wyoming high school graduates who qualify can receive a Hathaway Scholarship for the full cost of tuition and fees at the University of Wyoming, or for attendance at any community college in Wyoming.[3]
Hathaway died in Cheyenne, Wyoming, following a lengthy illness, on October 4, 2005, having been preceded in death by his wife Bobby in 2004. The Hathaways are interred in Valley View Cemetery in Torrington, Wyoming.
Following his death, both houses of the Wyoming Legislature in 2006 unanimously passed a Joint Resolution memorializing Governor Hathaway as "one of Wyoming's greatest natural resources".[8]