Wallace Bennett; Longtime GOP Utah Senator

Former U.S. Sen. Wallace F. Bennett, the self-assured Utah Republican who once irked his party by backing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, died Sunday in his Salt Lake City condominium at age 95.

Bennett “went to bed to rest and never woke up” after suffering a slight fall at home late Saturday, said his youngest son, U.S. Sen. Robert F. Bennett, one of five children.

Wallace Bennett won election in 1950 to the Senate, where he came to be known as a reserved statesman with the strong work ethic he had honed in 30 years of running the family glass and paint business, Bennett Enterprises.

Once the head of the National Assn. of Manufacturers, Bennett used his business savvy to win powerful seats on Senate committees. He served as ranking Republican on the Senate Finance and Banking and Currency Committees, senior member of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy and vice chairman of the special Senate Ethics Committee.

“He was right straight up front with what he believed and didn’t believe,” said former U.S. Sen. Frank Moss, a Democrat who represented Utah for 18 years, 16 of them with Bennett.

Moss said that Bennett’s personal habits mirrored his politics.

“He never had a thing on his desk. Even his telephone was kept in a drawer,” Moss recalled. “I think it was because he had everything already outlined in his conservative view, and had just swept away out of sight anything else that would come up because he was so sure of himself.”

Bennett retired in 1974 to let Jake Garn, his chosen successor, take office a few weeks early. His son, Robert, 60 and also a Republican, was elected to the seat in 1992.