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Sheran, Robert J.

House 1947-50 (District 8)

Party when first elected:  Nonpartisan Election-Conservative Caucus

Counties Served:  Blue Earth

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Date of Birth: 1/2/1916
Birth Place: Waseca, Minnesota
Birth County: Waseca
Birth Country: United States
Date of Death: 1/25/2012
Gender: Male
Religion: Catholic
Reported Minority: None Reported
Other Names:
City of Residence (when first elected): Mankato
Occupation (when first elected): Trial Lawyer, Gallagher Farrish Law Office

EDUCATION

Roosevelt High School, Minneapolis; Secondary; Graduate, 1932
St. Thomas College; B.A.; 1936
University of Minnesota, Law School; LL.B.; 1939

OTHER GOVERNMENT SERVICE

Judicial Administration: Minnesota Supreme Court (Secretary to Chief Justice Henry M. Gallagher); 1939 to 1940
U.S. Executive Branch: United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (World War II, Guarded the Secrets of the Manhattan Project, Special Agent); 1942 to 1945
Judge: Minnesota Supreme Court (Associate Justice, Appointed by Governor Elmer L. Andersen, Then Elected); 01/08/1963 to 07/01/1970 [Appointed]
Judge: Minnesota Supreme Court (Chief Justice, Appointed by Governor Wendell Anderson, Then Elected); 12/18/1973 to 12/18/1981 [Appointed]

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS

Spouse: Jean Brown (married in 1940; she died around 2005)
Children: Five children (Three children, while in office): Michael, Thomas, John, and Daniel (sons); Kathleen "Kathy" J. (daughter)
Family Members Who Have Served in the Minnesota Legislature:
Kathleen J. Sheran  - Daughter

GENERAL NOTES

He ran unsuccessfully for Minnesota Lieutenant Governor. "Sheran was a DFLer who had run for lieutenant governor..." (Star Tribune, January 27, 2012)

He served as Interim Dean of Hamline University School of Law in 1993.

He was a national debate champion while at St. Thomas College.

He died in Bloomington, Minnesota. His funeral was held on January 30, 2012 at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Edina, Minnesota. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Mankato, Minnesota.

Religion provided by his obituary.

Total Days Served: 1456

SESSIONS SERVED

56th Legislative Session (1949-1950)

  Session Details
Body: House
District: 08
Elected: 11/2/1948
Residence: Mankato
Term of Office: 1/4/1949 to 1/1/1951
Counties Represented: Blue Earth
Occupation: Trial Lawyer, Gallagher Farrish Law Office
Party: Nonpartisan Election-Liberal Caucus
Committees:
  • Appropriations
  • Dairy Products and Livestock
  • Judiciary
  • Motor Vehicles
  • University

55th Legislative Session (1947-1948)

  Session Details
Body: House
District: 08
Elected: 11/5/1946
Residence: Mankato
Term of Office: 1/7/1947 to 1/3/1949
Counties Represented: Blue Earth
Occupation: Trial Lawyer, Gallagher Farrish Law Office
Party: Nonpartisan Election-Conservative Caucus
Committees:
  • Civil Administration
  • Insurance
  • Judiciary
  • Taxes
Articles & Books By
Sheran, Robert J. "State of the Judiciary Message." June 26, 1981.

Sheran, Robert J. "State of the Judiciary Message." June 21, 1979.

Sheran, Robert J. "State of the Judiciary Message." June 23, 1978.


Articles & Books About
"Sheran, Former Chief Justice Robert J. (Obituary)." Star Tribune, January 27, 2012, p. B5.

Simons, Abby. "Brilliant Jurist Remembered As a Great Listener (Obituary)." Star Tribune, January 27, 2012, p. B1, B5.

Gurnon, Emily. "Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Sheran dies at 96 (Obituary)." St. Paul Pioneer Press, January 26, 2012.

Ojanpa, Brian. "Former Mankato Lawyer, Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Sheran Has Died (Obituary)." Mankato Free Press, January 26, 2012.

Minnesota Supreme Court. "Robert J. Sheran." Biographical Sketches of Justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court and Judges of the Minnesota Court of Appeals from Territorial Days to 1990, St. Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing Company, 1990, p. 30.

The Professional Career of Robert J. Sheran (Issue 2 of Minnesota Justices Series). St. Paul: Minnesota State Law Library, 1982. (Link to Table of Contents)


These files are available in the Legislative Reference Library.