Joe Hickey (politician)

{{short description|American judge and 24th Governor of Wyoming}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Joe Hickey

| image = John Joseph Hickey 2.jpg

| caption =

| office = Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

| term_start = June 9, 1966

| term_end = September 22, 1970

| appointer = Lyndon B. Johnson

| preceded = John Coleman Pickett

| succeeded = James E. Barrett

| office1 = United States Senator
from Wyoming

| term_start1 = January 3, 1961

| term_end1 = November 6, 1962

| appointer1 = Jack R. Gage

| preceded1 = Keith Thomson (elect)
Joseph C. O'Mahoney

| succeeded1 = Milward Simpson

| office2 = 24th Governor of Wyoming

| term_start2 = January 5, 1959

| term_end2 = January 2, 1961

| preceded2 = Milward Simpson

| succeeded2 = Jack R. Gage

|office3 = United States Attorney for the District of Wyoming

|president3= Harry Truman

|term_start3= 1949

|term_end3 = 1953

|predecessor3=John Coleman Pickett

|successor3 =John F. Raper

| birth_name = John Joseph Hickey

| birth_date = {{birth date|1911|08|22}}

| birth_place = Rawlins, Wyoming, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1970|09|22|1911|08|22}}

| death_place = Cheyenne, Wyoming, U.S.

| restingplace = Rawlins Cemetery, Rawlins, Wyoming, U.S.

| party = Democratic

| otherparty =

| father = John Joseph Hickey

| mother = Brigit O'Meara

| spouse = Winifred E. Espy

| children = 2

| relatives =

| education = University of Wyoming College of Law (LLB)

| signature =

| allegiance = {{flag|United States|1945}}

| branch = United States Army

| serviceyears = 1942–1945

| rank = Captain

| unit =

| battles = World War II

| mawards =

}}

John Joseph Hickey (August 22, 1911 – September 22, 1970), known as Joe or J. J. Hickey, was an American judge and politician who served the 24th governor of Wyoming from 1959 to 1961 and as a United States senator from 1961 to 1962. A member of the Democratic party, he later served as a judge on the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit from 1966 to 1970. He was the first Governor of Wyoming to be born in the 20th century.

Early life

Joe Hickey was born in Rawlins, Wyoming, on August 22, 1911, to John Joseph Hickey and Brigit O'Meara. John moved to Wyoming in 1873, and was employed by the Union Pacific Railroad. Joe graduated from public school in Rawlins in 1929, and graduated with a law degree from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 1934.

Hickey served in the army during World War II for 42 months and received the rank of private.

In 1942 he joined the army as a private and after serving for forty two months rose to the rank of captain. On December 25, 1945, he was honorably discharged and on January 15, 1946, he married Winifred Espy. He served as county attorney of Carbon County from 1946 to 1949.

Career

=Early politics=

Hickey served as the treasurer of Rawlins from 1935 to 1940, and was the chair of the Carbon County Democratic Party. He was county attorney of Carbon County from 1939 to 1942. President Harry S. Truman appointed him as the U.S. District Attorney for Wyoming in 1949. Hickey was a U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming from 1949 to 1954.{{Cite web |title=Hickey, John Joseph |url=https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/hickey-john-joseph |access-date=2023-11-28 |website=Federal Judicial Center}}

Hickey became chair of the Wyoming Democratic Party in 1954.

=Governor and Senator=

File:John J. Hickey (WY).png

File:John Joseph Hickey.jpg

He was the Governor of Wyoming from 1959 to 1961.

Hickey seconded the presidential nomination of Lyndon B. Johnson at the 1960 Democratic National Convention. During the 1960 presidential election Hickey stated that the issue over Kennedy's Catholicism would not be important in Wyoming due to Hickey, who was also a Catholic, having won in 1958.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42395426/casper_startribune/ |title=Religion No Issue Here, Hickey Says |date=July 21, 1960 |work=Casper Star-Tribune |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200116160136/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42395426/casper_startribune/ |archive-date=January 16, 2020 |url-status=live |page=2 |via=Newspapers.com}}

Hickey resigned as governor and Secretary of State Jack R. Gage ascended to the position. On January 2, 1961, Gage appointed him to fill the vacancy created by U.S. Senator-elect Keith Thomson's death. Hickey lost the election to his predecessor in the governor's mansion, Republican Milward Simpson, in 1962. On October 15, 1962, he suffered a heart attack, but recovered.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42659869/the_billings_gazette/ |title=Sen. Hickey Suffers Mild Heart Attack |date=October 17, 1962 |work=The Billings Gazette |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200120182820/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/42659869/the_billings_gazette/ |archive-date=January 20, 2020 |url-status=live |page=20 |via=Newspapers.com}}

=Tenth Circuit=

He was in private practice of law in Rawlins from 1962 to 1966. Hickey was nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson on May 12, 1966, to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit vacated by Judge John Coleman Pickett. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 9, 1966, and received his commission the same day.

Death

In July 1970, Hickey was hospitalized for a stomach ulcer and in August he went to the Presbyterian Medical Center in Denver for lung cancer treatment.{{Cite news |date=August 2, 1970 |title=Hickey Has Lung Cancer |page=1 |work=Casper Star-Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/42547721/casper_startribune/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825200355/https://www.newspapers.com/article/42547721/casper_startribune/ |archive-date=August 25, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}} On September 22, 1970, he died in a Cheyenne hospital. He was buried on September 24, and eulogized by Bishop Hubert Newell.{{Cite news |date=September 23, 1970 |title=Judge Hickey, Former Governor-Senator, Dies |page=1 |work=Casper Star-Tribune |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/42546606/casper_startribune/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230825194207/https://www.newspapers.com/article/42546606/casper_startribune/ |archive-date=August 25, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com}}