Dwight Willard Burney | |
---|---|
30th Governor of Nebraska | |
In office September 9, 1960 – January 5, 1961 |
|
Preceded by | Ralph G. Brooks |
Succeeded by | Frank B. Morrison |
26th Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska | |
In office January 10, 1957 – January 7, 1965 |
|
Governor |
Victor E. Anderson (1957-1959) Ralph G. Brooks (1959-1960) Frank B. Morrison (1961-1965) |
Preceded by | Charles J. Warner |
Succeeded by | Philip C. Sorensen |
Member of the Nebraska Senate | |
In office 1945–1957 |
|
Personal details | |
Born |
Hartington, Nebraska, U.S. |
January 7, 1892
Died | March 10, 1987 Mesa, Arizona, U.S. |
(aged 95)
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Edna C. Wales Burney (1914-1961, her death) Grayce Hahn Burney (1965-1987, his death) |
Alma mater | University of South Dakota |
Dwight Willard Burney (January 7, 1892 – March 10, 1987) was a Nebraska Republican politician. He served as the 30th Governor of Nebraska from 1960 to 1961.
Burney was born in Hartington, Nebraska, the son of Willard H. Burney, Representative in the Nebraska legislature in 1919. He attended rural schools and graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1912. After graduation, he taught in high schools, farmed and ranched. He married Edna C. Wales on December 2, 1914 and they had two sons, Donald and Keith.
Burney was director of the Hartington rural schools for twenty-five years, engaged in farming and ranching, and was leader of 4-H Club work for eleven years. Burney was elected a member of the Nebraska Unicameral in 1945 and won reelection until 1957. He served as Speaker during that time.
In 1957, Burney became the 26th Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska. Reelected, he served in that office until he became governor of Nebraska after Ralph G. Brooks died in office on September 9, 1960. During his tenure, a state sales tax was promoted, and controversy over the firing of Jack Obblick, State Aeronautics Director, was handled. He was governor of Nebraska until the inauguration of Frank B. Morrison in 1961, and served again as Lieutenant Governor until 1965.
Burney's wife Edna died in 1962, and he married Grayce Hahn (1907-1994) of Polk, Nebraska on January 1, 1965. Burney and Grayce made their home in Polk. Burney died in his winter home in Mesa, Arizona, on March 10, 1987. He is interred at Hartington, Nebraska. He was a freemason.