Teno Roncalio, 87; Served Five Terms as Wyoming Congressman
Teno Roncalio, 87, Wyoming’s first five-term U.S. representative, died March 30 of congestive heart failure in Rock Springs, Wyo.
Roncalio, a Democrat, was the eighth of nine children of Italian immigrant parents.
He joined the Army after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and earned a Silver Star for gallantry in action during the Normandy invasion.
Roncalio received a law degree from the University of Wyoming in 1947 and became chairman of the Wyoming Democratic Party in 1957.
He won his first bid for the House in 1964. He gave up the seat in a failed bid for the U.S. Senate, but regained it in 1970.
Roncalio won reelection in 1972, 1974 and 1976, and was a delegate to four Democratic national conventions.
While in the House, Roncalio championed the idea that environmental protection and economic development could coexist.
During his tenure, the state’s share of mineral royalties went from 37% to 50%, bringing in millions of dollars for Wyoming’s schoolchildren.
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