Representative Gerald John Boileau

Gerald John Boileau (January 15, 1900 – January 30, 1981) was an American lawyer, progressive Republican and later Progressive Party politician from Wausau, Wisconsin, who served as a Representative from Wisconsin in the United States Congress from 1931 to 1939 and later as a Wisconsin circuit court judge for nearly three decades. He was born in Woodruff, Wisconsin, on January 15, 1900, to John Baptiste Rosario Poissant Boileau and Sophie (Daigle) Boileau. Because of financial difficulties, his family moved to Minocqua, Wisconsin, in 1910, where he spent the remainder of his youth.

Boileau attended local schools and graduated from Minocqua High School. During World War I he served in the United States Army in France, enlisting as a private on February 25, 1918. He saw overseas duty during the closing months of the war and was honorably discharged as a corporal on July 16, 1919. After his military service, he pursued legal studies and enrolled at Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee. He graduated from Marquette in 1922 and was admitted to the bar the same year, beginning a legal career that would underpin his later work in both elective and judicial office.

Following his admission to the bar, Boileau returned to northern Wisconsin and established his law practice in Marathon County. He quickly entered public service and, in 1926, was elected district attorney of Marathon County. He held the office of district attorney until his election to Congress in 1930, gaining a reputation as a capable prosecutor and public official. On August 25, 1925, he married Monica McKeon in Superior, Wisconsin; the couple had two daughters, Nancy and Mary, and made their home in Wausau.

Boileau was first elected to the Seventy-second Congress in 1930 as a Republican, representing Wisconsin’s 8th congressional district, and took office on March 4, 1931. He served during a significant period in American history marked by the Great Depression and the early years of the New Deal, participating in the legislative process and representing the interests of his Wisconsin constituents in the House of Representatives. Following redistricting, he was elected from Wisconsin’s 7th congressional district to the Seventy-third Congress and was subsequently reelected to the Seventy-fourth and Seventy-fifth Congresses. While initially elected as a Republican, he aligned with the progressive wing of the party and, for his later terms, ran as a member of the Wisconsin Progressive Party, still representing the 7th district. In total, he served four consecutive terms in the House from 1931 to 1939, contributing to debates over economic recovery and agricultural and labor policy during the New Deal era.

After his defeat for reelection in 1938, Boileau returned to Wausau to resume the practice of law. He soon reentered public service in a judicial capacity. In 1942 he was elected as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in northern Wisconsin, beginning a judicial career that would last 27 years. As a circuit judge, he presided over a wide range of civil and criminal matters and became a prominent figure in the state judiciary. He remained on the bench until his retirement in 1970, earning a reputation for diligence and fairness over nearly three decades of service.

Even after formal retirement, Boileau continued to be called upon for judicial service. In 1972 he was appointed acting circuit judge in the Kenosha-based 1st Judicial Circuit of Wisconsin, filling in due to the medical disability of Judge M. Eugene Baker. This brief return to the bench extended his long record of public service and underscored the respect he commanded within the state’s legal community.

Gerald John Boileau died in Wausau, Wisconsin, on January 30, 1981. At the time of his death, he was recognized as the last surviving man elected to Congress as a member of the Wisconsin Progressive Party. His career encompassed military service in World War I, local prosecutorial work, four terms in the United States House of Representatives during a transformative period in national politics, and nearly three decades on the Wisconsin circuit court, followed by continued judicial service in his later years.