Donald Nutter
| Donald Grant Nutter | |
| Donald Nutter | |
| In office January 4, 1961 – January 25, 1962 | |
| Preceded by | J. Hugo Aronson |
|---|---|
Montana State Senator for District 19
| |
| In office 1951–1959 | |
| Succeeded by | Tim Babcock |
| Born | November 28, 1915 Lambert, Richland County Montana |
| Died | January 25, 1962 (aged 46) Wolf Creek Lewis and Clark County, Montana |
| Resting place | Sidney Cemetery in Sidney, Montana |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Maxine Pearl Trotter Nutter Larson (married 1938-1962, his death) |
| Children | John Grant Nutter |
| Alma mater | [University of Montana]] at Missoula |
| Occupation | Businessman and Attorney |
Military Service
| |
| Service/branch | United States Army Air Forces |
| Years of service | 1943-1945 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Air Medal with clusters Distinguished Flying Cross with clusters |
Donald Grant Nutter (November 28, 1915 – January 25, 1962) was the 15th Governor of his native state of Montana], who served only for one year and three weeks because of his death at the age of forty-six in an airplane crash in Lewis and Clark County during a blizzard. He was succeeded by the lieutenant governor and fellow Republican, [Tim Babcock]], who held the governorship from 1962 to 1969.
He was the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross for his World War II service.[1] Nutter served from 1951 to 1959 in the Montana State Senate for the 19th district. He was also the Montana state Republican chairman prior to his election as governor on November 8, 1960.[2]
Background
Nutter was born in rural Lambert (now known as Fox Lake) in Richland County in northeastern Montana.[3]His parents were Chesley Earl Nutter(1884-1941) and the former Anne Grant Wood (1885-1968); he had two brothers. In 1918, the Nutters relocated to Sidney, the Richland County seat of government.
Nutter attended for two years the North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, North Dakota, and transferred in 1935 to the University of Montana at Missoula. He left school after his father became ill and returned to Sidney, where in 1937 he was named the deputy clerk for Richland County and thereafter became a deputy sheriff.[3]
Nutter met his wife, the former Maxine Pearl Trotter (1917-1998), at an ice cream shop owned by her parents. They were married in 1938 and had one son, John Grant Nutter (1948-2006). In 1965, Mrs. Nutter married Clifford M. Larson (1910-2000) of Sidney, who had two children from a first marriage.[4]
Career
Following their wedding, Nutter entered the farm equipment business in Sidney. He excelled an moved to Glasgow in Valley County, also in northeastern Montana, where he managed a farm equipment company for two years. With the outbreak of World War II, Nutter joined the United States Army Air Forces, the forerunner to the United States Air Force. He flew in B-24 bombers for sixty-two combat missions and more than five hundred hours of combat time. for thirteen months, he was stationed in the China-Burma-India Theater and was discharged at the rank of [[[captain]] after 3.25 years of service.
After the war, he returned to eastern Montana and opened his own farm implement dealership in Sidney and in 1948 began working toward a law degree. he was elected to the state Senate in 1950 while he was still in law school. In 1954, he was admitted to the bar and re-elected in the state senate. Originally a political conservative, Nutter turned Moderate Republican during his brief time as governor.[5]
State Senator Nutter was defeated in his bid for a third four-year term in the state Senate and from 1958 to 1960 became the state Republican chairman. During his time as governor, state spending was reduced and new industrial developments were promoted.[3]
Death and legacy
On the night of January 25, 1962, Nutter was headed to a speaking engagement in Cut Bank in Glacier County in northwestern Montana when the C-47 Skytrain, in which he was a passenger crashed in a blizzard with winds in exess of 100 miles per hour. The aircraft went down in Wolf Creek Canyon north of the capital city of Helena.. Also killed in the crash were Dennis Gordon, his executive secretary; Edward Wren, commissioner of agriculture; and three members of the Montana Air National Guard.
The caskets of Nutter, Wren, and Gordon, lay in state in the capitol under the watch of two Montana National Guardsmen.[6] He was interred at the Sidney City Cemetery. Mrs. Nutter was interred beside her husband upon her death thirty-six years later. their son who died at the age of fifty-eight is interred at Cloverdale Memorial Park in the capital city of Boise, Idaho.[7]
At the Montana State Capitol in Helena, a bronze plaque remembers Nutter and the others who perished in the air crash.[8]
References
- ↑ Montana Governor Donald Grant Nutter. National Governors Association. Retrieved on October 14, 2012.
- ↑ Former Governors of Montana. www.netstate.com. Retrieved on October 9, 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Montana Governor Donald Grant Nutter. National Governors' Association (September 30, 2007). Retrieved on June 2, 2008.
- ↑ Maxine Pearl Trotter Larson (1917-1998) - Find A Grave Memorial
- ↑ Who's Who In The State House. Time Magazine (November 16, 1960). Retrieved on June 2, 2007.
- ↑ Sarah Elliott (September 11, 2006). Governor Tom Judge to Lie In State in Supreme Court Chambers this Wednesday. Montana Office of the Governor. Retrieved on June 7, 2007.
- ↑ John G Nutter (1948-2006) - Find A Grave Memorial, accessed July 28, 2021.
- ↑ Charles S. Johnson, "Nutter, others honored with plaque," The Billings Gazette, September 15, 2006.
