F. Ray Keyser, Jr.

Ray Keyser
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.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Joan Keyser (1950–2002; her death) Mary-Louise Keyser (2005–2015; his death)
Alma mater	Tufts University Boston University

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.

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]

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.^[11]

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.^[12]

From 1967 to 1972, he was on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston^[13] and he was a Director of the Central Vermont Public Service Corporation and Chairman of the Board from 1980 to 1997.^[14]

In 1980 he organized the Rutland law office of Keyser and Crowley.^[15] Keyser also served as a Director of the Union Mutual of Vermont insurance company.^[16]

A longtime resident of Proctor,^[17] Keyser died at his daughter's home in Brandon on March 7, 2015 at the age of 87.^[18][19] He was buried at Highland Cemetery in Chelsea.^[20] Keyser's first wife, former Vermont First Lady Joan Keyser, died in 2002.^[4] He was survived by his second wife, Mary Lou (Underhill) Keyser, whom he married in 2005; and his three children with Joan Keyser - Christopher, Frank Ray III, and Carol Ellen Fjeld.

References

1. Vermont Secretary of State, Vermont Legislative Directory, 1955, page 691
2. Tufts University Alumni, 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. 2002-04-25. Retrieved 2015-03-29.
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". http://www.nga.org. National Governors Association. Retrieved March 9, 2015. External link in |website= (help)
10. "Honorary Degree Recipients". Tufts University: Office of the Trustees. Tufts University. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
11. Samuel B. Hand, Anthony Marro, Stephen C. Terry, Philip Hoff: How Red Turned Blue in the Green Mountain State, 2011, page 11
12. John J. Duffy, Samuel B. Hand, Ralph H. Orth, The Vermont Encyclopedia, 2003, page 176
13. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Annual Report, 1972, page 287
14. Central Vermont Public Service Corporation, Annual Meeting proxy Statement, 1996
15. The Taft Group, The Big Book of Library Grant Money, 2004-2005, 2004, page 247
16. Union Mutual of Vermont, Officers and Board of Directors, accessed June 13, 2012
17. O'Connor, Kevin (March 8, 2015). "Former Vt. Gov. F. Ray Keyser Jr. dies". VTDigger.org (Montpelier, VT).
18. "Obituary, Frank Ray Keyser, Jr.". Burlington Free Press (Burlington, VT). March 8, 2015.
19. Ring, Wilson (Associated Press) (March 8, 2015). "Former Republican Vermont Gov. F. Ray Keyser Jr. Dies at 88". ABCnews.go.com.
20. F. Ray Keyser, Jr. at Find a Grave

Sources

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

External links

• Inventory of the Frank Ray Keyser Papers, Special Collections, University of Vermont Library
• The Governors: F. Ray Keyser. Chris Graff interview with former Governor F. Ray. Keyser, Jr. Vermont Public Television. 1989.