Francis Higbee Case Passes Away

Today in Masonic History Francis Higbee Case passes away in 1962.

Francis Higbee Case was an American politician.

Case was born on December 9th, 1896 in Everyly, Iowa. At the age of 13 the family moved to Sturgis, South Dakota where he attended public schools. After graduating he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps to serve during World War I. Later he served in the Army Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve. He also attended Dakota Wesleyan University and Northwestern University where he graduated in 1920. While at Northwestern he was a member of Acacia fraternity, a masonic connected college fraternity.

After finishing college, Case entered the newspaper business as an editor. He worked as a newspaper editor for 15 years around South Dakota and in Chicago, Illinois. He was also the publisher of the Custer Chronicle in Custer, South Dakota.

After two failed elections, in 1936 Case was elected to the United States House of Representatives. He served in the House for seven terms. Prior to the United States entering World War II, Case, like many Americans of the time, was a moderate isolationist. He left the House in 1951.

In 1951, Case was elected to the United States Senate for the first of two terms. In 1954, he was assigned to a committee to determine if Joseph McCarthy should be censured. In the Senate, Case was known as a moderate who sought to improve and expand America's roads and waterways.

Case passed away on June 22nd, 1962 just a few months before his second term in the Senate was supposed to end.

Case was a member of Custer City Lodge No. 66 in Custer, South Dakota. He was also a member of Black Hills Chapter No. 25, Royal Arch Masons, Black Hills Council No. 3, Royal & Select Masters and Schrader Commandery No. 9, Knights Templar all of which are in Rapid City, South Dakota.

This article provided by Brother Eric C. Steele.