William H. Diers

William Henry Diers (born Ulysses, Nebraska, May 27, 1890; died Lincoln, Nebraska, May 2, 1982) was an American Democratic party politician, businessman, and public servant. He served as Speaker of the unicameral Nebraska legislature in 1939.

Family

Diers was the son of Martha (Barnes) Diers (1862-1931) and Herman Diers (1860-1926), a banker and general store owner from Gresham, Nebraska. Herman served in the Nebraska House of Representatives 1901-3 and the Nebraska Senate 1909-1911. William's younger brother Herbert Kenneth Diers (1896-1975) served five terms in the unicameral Nebraska Legislature (1950-1956, 1958-1962). William graduated from York High School in York, Nebraska and attended the University of Nebraska 1909-1911. He and his brother continued to operate the family store following their father's death in 1926.^[1]

Career

A Democrat, William was elected to the Nebraska House in 1933 and 1935. The Nebraska legislature became unicameral with the 1936 elections, and he was elected in 1936 and 1938. In the 1939 session he was elected Speaker.

In 1940 Diers ran for Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska. He won a narrowly divided five-way Democratic party primary with 23.85% of the vote but was defeated in the general election by Republican William E. Johnson. He then went to work as a lobbyist.^[2]

In 1947 Diers was appointed by Republican governor Val Peterson to the State Board of Control which operated the state's prisons and mental hospitals. The three members of the board had just resigned due to a scandal, and Peterson selected Diers over the candidate proposed by the Democratic state committee, Frank Sorrell, his opponent in the 1946 gubernatorial election. Diers was elected vice chairman and later chairman. He served on the board until 1955.^[3]^[4]

Diers was a candidate for lieutenant governor again in 1964 and received 4.36% of the vote in a crowded Democratic primary.^[5]

Personal life

Diers married Marjorie Berryhill (1893-1990) on November 29, 1916; they had two children. Diers and his wife are buried in Cedar Lawn Cemetery in Gresham.

References

^ Nebraska Blue Book, 1938, p. 276
^ "Lobbyists at work; 16 have signed so far", Nebraska State Journal, January 13, 1941, p. 3
^ "Third Member is Appointed to State Board of Control", The Fairbury Daily News, January 20, 1947, Page 1
^ "Backward Look to 8 1/2 Years on the State Control Board", Beatrice Daily Sun (Beatrice, Nebraska), June 30, 1955, p. 9
^ https://govdocs.nebraska.gov/epubs/S1200/S001-1964prim_gen.pdf Official Report of the Board of State Canvassers of the State of Nebraska, Primary Election, May 12, 1964, p. 13

[1] Nebraska Blue Book, 1938, p. 276

[2] "Lobbyists at work; 16 have signed so far", Nebraska State Journal, January 13, 1941, p. 3

[3] "Third Member is Appointed to State Board of Control", The Fairbury Daily News, January 20, 1947, Page 1

[4] "Backward Look to 8 1/2 Years on the State Control Board", Beatrice Daily Sun (Beatrice, Nebraska), June 30, 1955, p. 9

[5] ttps://govdocs.nebraska.gov/epubs/S1200/S001-1964prim_gen.pdf Official Report of the Board of State Canvassers of the State of Nebraska, Primary Election, May 12, 1964, p. 13

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