Representative Gomer Griffith Smith

Gomer Griffith Smith (July 11, 1896 – May 26, 1953) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served one term as a U.S. Representative from Oklahoma from 1937 to 1939. His congressional service took place during a significant period in American history, as the nation continued to grapple with the effects of the Great Depression and the implementation of New Deal policies.

Smith was born on a farm near Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Joseph M. Smith and Elizabeth Lewis Smith. He attended the common and high schools of Missouri and pursued further studies at Rockingham Academy in Kansas City, from which he graduated in 1915. His rural upbringing and early education in Missouri’s school system shaped his familiarity with agricultural and small-town concerns that would later inform his public service.

After completing his studies at Rockingham Academy, Smith worked as a teacher while preparing for a legal career. From 1916 to 1918 he taught in a country school near Excelsior Springs, Missouri, and during this period he studied law. He was admitted to the Missouri bar in 1920. Seeking broader professional opportunities, he later moved to Oklahoma, where he was admitted to the Oklahoma bar in 1922 and commenced the practice of law in Oklahoma City. Establishing himself as an attorney in the state’s capital, he built a legal career that provided the foundation for his entry into politics.

Smith’s political career reached its peak with his election to the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the Seventy-fifth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Representative Robert P. Hill. He took his seat on December 10, 1937, and served until January 3, 1939. During this single term in office, he participated in the legislative process in the House of Representatives and represented the interests of his Oklahoma constituents at a time when Congress was addressing major economic and social issues arising from the Great Depression. Although he contributed to the work of the Seventy-fifth Congress, he chose not to seek renomination to the House in 1938.

Instead of running again for his House seat, Smith sought higher office. In 1938 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for United States Senator from Oklahoma. Following this defeat, he returned to private life and resumed the practice of law in Oklahoma City, continuing his legal career in the community where he had long been established.

In his personal life, Smith married Hazel Mae Mizner. The couple had a family that included one son and three daughters, and they also adopted Gomer’s youngest brother, reflecting close familial ties and a strong sense of family responsibility. Oklahoma City remained the center of his professional and personal life for the remainder of his years.

Gomer Griffith Smith died in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, on May 26, 1953, at the age of 56 years and 319 days. He was entombed in a mausoleum at Rose Hill Burial Park in Oklahoma City. His career combined legal practice with a brief but notable period of federal legislative service, marking his contribution to Oklahoma’s representation in the United States Congress during the late 1930s.