Alfred M. Derr

Alfred Morley Derr (May 16, 1903—April 1, 1970)^[1] was a Democratic politician from Idaho.

Life

Both he and his wife, Hattie Derr (1905—1994),^[1] were students at University of Idaho. His senatorial career started in 1937, and he was a member of the Idaho Legislature, serving five terms in the Idaho State Senate (three of them : 1937, 1939 to 1942, 1955 to 1958). During his first senatorial tenure his wife ringed in for Mr. Derr as he was having a surgery. This was the first instance of a woman serving as a senator. He was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Idaho in 1958. Derr was defeated by the Republican incumbent, Robert E. Smylie.^[2]

Apart from his political career, he lived the life of a farmer, was a teacher and a logger. His son, Allen Derr, an Idaho lawyer, won the landmark 1971 Reed v. Reed U.S. Supreme Court case in 1971 and co-founded for the Idaho Press Club.^[2][3] Other children include Beverly Shields, John Derr, James Derr, and Jane Betts.

References

1. "Clark Fork Cemetery, Bonner, ID". CLARK FORK CEMETERY. Archived from the original on 2006-06-25. Retrieved 2006-09-20.
2. "Spring 2003" (PDF). Idaho Press Club. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-07-09. Retrieved 2006-09-20.
3. Miller, John (2013-06-11). "Derr’s work advanced gender equality - Idaho lawyer who won landmark case dies at 85". Associated Press (Spokesman-Review). Retrieved 2013-07-09.