Merrill Werts Explained

Merrill Werts
State Senate:Kansas
District:22nd
Term Start:1979
Term End:January 9, 1989
Predecessor:Donn Everett
Successor:Lana Oleen
Birth Date:1922 11, mf=yes[1]
Birth Place:Smith Center, Kansas[2]
Residence:Junction City, Kansas
Death Place:Junction City, Kansas
Spouse:Dorothy Wilson
Children:4
Party:Republican
Alma Mater:Kansas State University (undergraduate); Cornell University (Master's degree)

Merrill H. Werts (November 17, 1922 - September 22, 2011) was an American politician who served in the Kansas Senate as a Republican from the 22nd district from 1979 to 1989.[1]

Werts was born in Smith Center, Kansas and raised on a farm. He attended Kansas State University, but his education there was interrupted by service in World War II; Werts entered the U.S. Army in June 1943 and fought in the European theater, losing a leg in Germany. He left the Army in March 1946 and returned to KSU, graduating in 1947. He received a master's degree in agricultural economics from Cornell University in 1948.

After completing his education, Werts worked in banking, eventually rising to become president of a bank in Junction City, Kansas. He was elected to the State Senate in 1978, taking office in 1979; in 1988, he declined to run for re-election, and Lana Oleen succeeded him in the Senate.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kansas Legislators, Past and Present - Werts, Merrill . . kslib.info . State Library of Kansas . November 7, 2022.
  2. Web site: Merrill Werts Obituary . . October 1, 2011 . legacy.com . . November 7, 2022.
  3. Web site: Interview of Senator Lana Oleen - Transcript . Joan Wagnon . October 14, 2019 . ksoralhistory.org . Kansas Oral History Project . November 7, 2022.