OBITUARIES / PASSINGS / Wendell Wyatt
Former Rep. Wendell Wyatt, 91, who represented Oregon’s 1st Congressional District for 10 years, died Wednesday at his Portland home. The cause was not reported.
Wyatt, a Republican, served on the House Committee on the Interior and later the House Appropriations Committee.
A native of Eugene, Ore., Wyatt earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon in 1941 and served in the Marines during World War II. After the war, he moved to Astoria, Ore., where he joined the law firm of former Oregon Gov. A. W. Norblad. Wyatt was chairman of the state Republican Central Committee from 1955 until 1957.
In 1964, he won a special congressional election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Rep. Walter Norblad, the son of his law partner.
While in Congress, Wyatt worked on bills that established the 40-foot shipping channel in the Columbia River from Astoria to Portland. He also was credited with a bill that authorized the $4-million purchase of ranch lands along the Snake River for public recreation.
He served from Nov. 3, 1964, until Jan. 3, 1975, and was not a candidate for reelection in 1974.
After leaving Congress, he became a partner at the law firm of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt.
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