Scott M. Matheson

Scott Milne Matheson
12th Governor of Utah
In office January 3, 1977 – January 7, 1985
Lieutenant	David S. Monson
Preceded by	Calvin L. Rampton
Succeeded by	Norman H. Bangerter
65th Chairman of the National Governors Association
In office 1982–1983
Preceded by	Richard Snelling
Succeeded by	James R. Thompson
Personal details
Born	January 8, 1929 Chicago, Illinois
Died	October 7, 1990 (aged 61) Salt Lake City, Utah
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Norma Louise Warenski
Children	4
Education	University of Utah Stanford School of Law
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon)

Scott Milne Matheson (January 8, 1929 – October 7, 1990), was the 12th Governor of Utah from 1977 to 1985. He is currently the last Democrat to serve in that position.

Matheson was born on January 8, 1929 in Chicago to Latter-day Saint parents Scott Milne and Adele Adams Matheson. Soon after his birth, the family moved to Utah, settling first in Parowan, before moving to Salt Lake City, when his father became a federal prosecutor.

Matheson graduated from Salt Lake City's East High School in 1946, earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Utah in 1950, and a law degree from Stanford University in 1952. He operated a private law practice in Iron County, Utah for five years before taking a position with Union Pacific Railroad in 1958. At the railroad he rose to the position of general counsel before making his 1976 run for governor.

In 1998, the Utah Supreme Court was moved into the Scott M. Matheson Courthouse building.

During his term as governor, Matheson was named defendant in the U.S. Supreme Court case of H. L. v. Matheson.

On 25 August 1951 he married Norma Louise Warenski, and the couple had four children. One is former U.S. Congressman Jim Matheson. Another son, Scott Matheson, Jr., was the 2004 Democratic nominee for Governor of Utah, and was appointed as a federal Judge in 2010.

On 7 October 1990 Governor Matheson died of multiple myeloma, a rare form of cancer, and was buried in Parowan City Cemetery in Parowan, Utah.

References

• Fowler, Glenn (October 8, 1990), "Scott Matheson, 61, Ex-Governor And Leading Democrat in Utah", The New York Times: D10
• McCormick, John (1994), "Matheson, Scott M.", in Powell, Allan Kent, Utah History Encyclopedia, Salt Lake City, Utah: University of Utah Press, ISBN 0874804256, OCLC 30473917