Donald Beneke Explained

Donald G. Beneke
State Senate:Iowa
District:37th
Term Start:14 January 1963
Term End:8 January 1967
Predecessor:John A. Walker
Successor:Charles S. Van Eaton
Alden Erskine
State Senate1:Iowa
District1:50th
Term Start1:4 May 1961
Term End1:13 January 1963
Predecessor1:Guy G. Butler
Successor1:Lucas DeKoster
Birth Date:14 March 1916
Birth Place:Laurens, Iowa
Death Place:Pocahontas, Iowa
Party:Republican
Education:University of Iowa

Donald G. Beneke (14 March 1916 – 17 February 1990) was an American lawyer and politician.

Beneke was born to parents Anton and Theresa Mefferd Beneke in Laurens, Iowa, on 14 March 1916. He attended high school in his hometown. After graduating in 1933, Beneke attended the University of Iowa and its College of Law, completing his bachelor's degree in 1937, and a Juris Doctor in 1939.[1] Beneke had six siblings,[2] including Raymond Beneke, an economist and professor at Iowa State University.[3] [4]

Donald Beneke was associated with the Laurens school board from 1947 to 1961, as secretary,[5] regular member, and later president.[1] Between 1951 and 1954, he was district attorney for Pocahontas County.[1] Beneke was nominated in April 1961 as the Republican candidate for a special election to the Iowa Senate the following month, defeated Democratic candidate James Hamilton in the election,[6] and duly took office in District 50 on 4 May 1961.[1] In November 1962, Beneke won a full term in District 37.[1] [7] After stepping down from the state legislature in 1965, Beneke served as president of the Pocahontas County Board of Education and contested a seat on the Area 5 Education Agency in 1974.[8] By 1980, Beneke had been designated mental health referee for Pocahontas County.[9] At the time of his death at Pocahontas Community Hospital on 17 February 1990, Beneke was director of the Laurens State Bank and serving as Laurens city attorney.[10]

Notes and References

  1. News: Senator Donald G. Beneke . 20 November 2022 . Iowa General Assembly.
  2. News: Leland F. Beneke . 20 November 2022 . Des Moines Register . 27 December 2011.
  3. News: Raymond R. Beneke . 20 November 2022 . Des Moines Register . 3 February 2005.
  4. News: Raymond R. Beneke Memorial Resolution . 20 November 2022 . Iowa State University Faculty Senate.
  5. News: Adult classes (continued from page 1) . The Daily Herald . 21 September 1951.
  6. News: Beneke, Hamilton are nominees for senate . 20 November 2022 . Humboldt Republican . 26 April 1961.
  7. News: Most GOP Legislators Are Returned . 20 November 2022 . Carroll Daily Times Herald . Associated Press . 7 November 1962.
  8. News: Mickelson-Beneke candidates for Area 5 Education Board . 20 November 2022 . Humboldt Republican . 7 August 1974.
  9. News: Man slashes...in Pocahontas... . 20 November 2022 . Sioux City Journal . 23 November 1980.
  10. News: Longtime attorney Donald Beneke passes away Saturday, February 17 . 20 November 2022 . Humboldt Republican . February 1990.