Scott M. Matheson

Scott Milne Matheson Jr. (January 8, 1929 – October 7, 1990) was an American politician who served as the 12th governor of Utah from 1977 to 1985. He is the most recent Democrat to serve in that position.

Scott Matheson
12th Governor of Utah
In office January 3, 1977 – January 7, 1985
Lieutenant	David S. Monson
Preceded by	Cal Rampton
Succeeded by	Norm Bangerter
Chair of the National Governors Association
In office August 10, 1982 – August 2, 1983
Preceded by	Richard Snelling
Succeeded by	Jim Thompson
Personal details
Born	Scott Milne Matheson, Jr. (1929-01-08)January 8, 1929 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	October 7, 1990(1990-10-07) (aged 61) Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Norma Warenski ​ (m. 1951)​
Children	4, including Scott and Jim
Parent	Scott M. Matheson Sr. (father)
Education	University of Utah (BA) Stanford University (LLB)

Biography

Matheson was born on January 8, 1929, in Chicago to parents belonging to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Scott Milne and Adele Adams Matheson.^[1] Soon after his birth, the family moved to Utah, settling first in Parowan before moving to Salt Lake City when his father became United States Attorney for the District of Utah.

Matheson graduated from Salt Lake City's East High School in 1946, earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Utah in 1950, and a law degree from Stanford University Law School in 1952. He operated a private law practice in Iron County, Utah, for five years before taking a position with Union Pacific Railroad in 1958. During his service with the railroad, he rose to the position of general counsel before making his 1976 run for governor.

In 1998, the Utah Supreme Court was moved into the Scott M. Matheson Courthouse building.

Matheson defeated Republican nominee Vernon B. Romney by a 52%–46% margin, with two minor candidates combining for the remaining two percent of the vote.

Matheson would be re-elected in 1980 over Republican Bob Wright by a strong 55%–44% margin, even as Republican Presidential candidate Ronald Reagan and Republican U.S. Senator Jake Garn easily carried Utah in their elections held the same day.

During his term as governor, Matheson was named the defendant in the U.S. Supreme Court case of H. L. v. Matheson, which upheld a state law requiring parental consent for a teenage girl to obtain an abortion. He was also chair of the National Governors Association during the 1982–1983 term.

In 1986, Matheson considered a bid for the U.S. Senate to challenge incumbent Orrin Hatch in 1988.^[2] Despite leading in hypothetical polling, Matheson announced on May 29, 1987, that he would not run for the seat.^[3] Hatch would ultimately be re-elected in a landslide over Democrat Brian H. Moss, who had never held political office.

Personal life and death

On August 25, 1951, he married Norma Louise Warenski, and the couple had four children.^[1] One of his sons is former U.S. Congressman Jim Matheson. Another son, Scott Matheson Jr., was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Utah in the 2004 election and was appointed as a federal judge in 2010.

In 1989, Matheson was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare form of cancer believed to have been caused by radioactive fallout from nuclear testing in Nevada.^[4] Scott Matheson died from the disease on October 7, 1990, at the age of 61. Matheson's death occurred during the general conference of the LDS Church and was honored by then-apostle Gordon B. Hinckley at the beginning of the Sunday morning session.^[5] He was buried in Parowan City Cemetery in Parowan, Utah.