E. Thurman Gaskill

E. Thurman Gaskill
Member of the Iowa Senate
In office
January 13, 1997 – January 12, 2009
Preceded byJames Edward Black
Succeeded byMerlin Bartz
Constituency
Personal details
BornElwyn Thurman Gaskill
(1935-04-04)April 4, 1935
Algona, Iowa, U.S.
DiedMarch 7, 2023(2023-03-07) (aged 87)
Algona, Iowa, U.S.
PartyRepublican
Spouse
Geraldine Adkins
​
(m. 1958)​
Children4
Alma materIowa State University
Occupation
  • Farmer
  • politician
Military service
Branch/serviceU.S. Army
Years of service
  • 1954–1956

Elwyn Thurman Gaskill (April 4, 1935 – March 7, 2023) was an American politician who was a member of the Iowa Senate from 1997 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, he first represented Iowa's 8th Senate district from 1997 to 2003, then represented the 6th district from 2003 to 2009. He was the majority leader of the Iowa Senate for six years. Gaskill was a director of Meta Financial Group, Incorporated, from 1982 to 2014. He was a commissioner of the Iowa Development Commission and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association, president of the National Corn Growers Association, chairman of the United States Feed Grains Council, and held other agricultural positions.[1][2]

Early life and education

Elwyn Thurman Gaskill was born on April 4, 1935, in Algona, Iowa, and was the son of George Elwyn and Mildred Genevieve (née Chapman) Gaskill. He graduated from Corwith Consolidated High School in 1953 and attended Iowa State University,[3][4] where he met his wife.[5]

Career

He served in the United States Army from 1954 to 1956[3] and was stationed in West Germany.[5]

Gaskill began farming in 1958 on rented property and expanded over the years, purchasing his own land.[6] He was inducted into the Iowa State University Agricultural Hall of Fame in the spring of 1975.[6]

He was appointed to the Iowa Development Commission by governor Robert Ray and was the vice chair of its Agriculture Promotion Board. He was appointed to the board of the National Corn Growers Association and later became its president. He was the first chairman of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board.[1][2][5] He was the chairman of the U.S. Feed Grains Council in 1981.[7]

He was a director of Meta Financial Group, Incorporated, a bank holding company, from 1982 to 2014.[5]

Gaskill was on the Hancock County Board of Education. In 1989, he was appointed to the board of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.[5]

Gaskill succeeded James Edward Black to represent Iowa's 8th Senate district after Black resigned during the 77th Iowa General Assembly.[8]

Gaskill was reelected in 2004 with 17,192 votes (58%), defeating John Drury, the Democratic party nominee.[9] He did not seek reelection to the Iowa Senate in the 2008 election.[10][11]

During his last term, Gaskill served on several committees in the Iowa Senate, the agriculture committee; the appropriations committee; the state government committee; and the natural resources and environment committee, where he was the ranking member. He was the ranking member of the agriculture and natural resources appropriations subcommittee.

He supported Rudy Giuliani in the 2008 Republican party presidential primary campaign as the Iowa chairman of Farmers for Rudy, and as a national co-chairman.[12]

In 2009, Wallaces Farmer honored Gaskill and his wife Gerry, along with three other families, as "Iowa Master Farmers".[13][14]

Death

Gaskill died at the Kossuth Regional Health Center in Algona, Iowa, on March 7, 2023.[5]

Personal life

He married Geraldine "Gerry" Adkins in Grinnell, Iowa, on June 8, 1958. They had four children, one of whom, James Scott Gaskill, died as an infant. Gaskill attended the Corwith United Methodist Church.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 "E. Thurman Gaskill". Des Moines Register. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  2. 1 2 "E. Thurman Gaskill Profile". Forbes magazine. Archived from the original on October 24, 2008. Retrieved March 27, 2009. Mr. Gaskill has owned and operated a grain farming operation located near Corwith, Iowa, since 1958. He has served as a commissioner with the Iowa Department of Economic Development and also as a commissioner with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Mr. Gaskill is the past president of Iowa Corn Growers Association, past chairman of the United States Feed Grains Council, and has served in numerous other agriculture positions. He has served as Chairman of the Senate Agricultural Committee and as Assistant Majority Leader of the Iowa Senate.
  3. 1 2 "Senator E. Thurman Gaskill". Iowa General Assembly.
  4. ↑ "Corwith High School Graduates", IAGenWeb.org website, IAGenWeb Project, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "E. Thurman Gaskill". Legacy.com.
  6. 1 2 Christian, Rebecca (August 23, 1975). "Farmer's interests span the globe". Vol. 116, no. 201. Mason City, Iowa: Globe Gazette. p. 6.
  7. ↑ "Remembering Former USGC Chairman E. Thurman Gaskill". U.S. Grains & Bioproducts Council. March 23, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Senator James E. Black". Iowa General Assembly.
  9. ↑ Culver, Chester J. (December 6, 2004). "Canvass Summary - ELECTION: 2004 General Election (11/2/2004)" (PDF). State of Iowa. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 4, 2007. Retrieved March 27, 2009. John Drury 12,213
    Thurman Gaskill 17,192
  10. ↑ "Angelo says he won't seek another Senate term". The Des Moines Register. Des Moines, Iowa. Associated Press. September 17, 2007. Document APRS000020070917e39h002yx. AP State Wires: Iowa | US State/Regional | IA BRF Angelo Decision | D8RNH24G1
  11. ↑ "State senator won't seek re-election". The Gazette. Des Moines, Iowa. Associated Press. April 6, 2007. Document APRS000020070406e346001fl. AP State Wires: Iowa | US State/Regional | IA Gaskill Iowa Senate | D8OB80NG0
  12. ↑ North Iowa News Briefs - Gaskill joins Giuliani campaign[link removed]. Globe Gazette. Mason City, Iowa: Lee Enterprises. June 27, 2007. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2009. "The Rudy Giuliani presidential Committee has announced the selection of State Sen. Thurman Gaskill of Corwith as the chairman of the Iowa Farmers for Rudy. Gaskill will also serve as national co-chairman of Agriculture for Rudy Giuliani."
  13. ↑ Thurman And Gerry Gaskill Named Iowa Master Farmers[link removed]. Garner Leader & Signal. Garner, Iowa: Mid-America Publishing Corporation. March 17, 2009. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved March 27, 2009. "Former State Senator Thurman Gaskill and wife, Gerry, Corwith, have been named Iowa Master Farms by Wallaces Farmer magazine. They are among four Iowa farm families that were recognized during ceremonies in Johnston on March 19.... Henry A. Wallace, editor of Wallaces Farmer from 1921 to 1933, initiated the Iowa Master Farmer Award in 1926 to call attention to Iowa farmers who not only demonstrate outstanding farm management, but also provide leadership in local, state and national organizations."
  14. ↑ Holdmeyer, Frank. "What it takes to be a Master" (PDF). Wallaces Farmer. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 10, 2011. Retrieved March 27, 2009. Henry A. Wallace, editor of Wallaces Farmer from 1921 to 1933, initiated the Iowa Master Farmer Award in 1926 to call attention to Iowa farmers who not only demonstrate outstanding management in their farming operations, but also provide leadership in local, state and national organizations. It is the longest running farmer recognition program in the country...
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