View source for Myrl Shoemaker

{{Short description|American politician}}
{{More references|date=February 2024}}{{Infobox officeholder 
| name=Myrl Shoemaker
| image name=Myrl Shoemaker.jpeg
| image_size=200px
| caption=Shoemaker in 1981
| order1=57th
| office1=Lieutenant Governor of Ohio
| state1= 
| term_start1= January 10, 1983
| term_end1= July 30, 1985
| governor1= [[Dick Celeste]]
| predecessor1= [[George Voinovich]]
| successor1= [[Paul R. Leonard]]
| state_house2=Ohio
| state2=Ohio
| district2=88th
| term2=January 3, 1967-December 31, 1982
| preceded2=''Districts Established''
| succeeded2=[[Mike Shoemaker]]
| party=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]
| birth_date={{birth date|1913|4|14}}
| birth_place=[[Chillicothe, Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date={{death date and age|1985|7|30|1913|4|14}}
| death_place=[[Bourneville, Ohio]], U.S.
|}}
'''Myrl Howard Shoemaker''' (April 14, 1913 – July 30, 1985) was an American [[politician]] of the [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic party]] who served as the 57th [[lieutenant governor of Ohio]] from 1983 until his death in 1985.

== Career ==
Shoemaker served for 24 years in the [[Ohio House of Representatives]] before being elected lieutenant governor in 1982 as running mate of [[Dick Celeste]]. Celeste's choice of Shoemaker for Lieutenant Governor was pivotal for him to receive downstate support in the election to offset the political support of his opponent, [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Rep.]] [[Bud Brown (politician)|Clarence J. "Bud" Brown Jr.]] Wags{{who|date=June 2020}} claimed that if elected, Celeste would be the Governor above Interstate 70 and Shoemaker would be the Governor below Interstate 70, the highway that bisects Ohio.

During his term as lieutenant governor, Shoemaker also served as director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=June 27, 1985 |title=Shoemaker to leave cabinet post |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/springfield-news-sun-shoemaker-to-leave/140225053/ |access-date=2024-02-04 |work=Springfield News-Sun |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Shoemaker was the first lieutenant governor in the United States to serve simultaneously in a governor's cabinet as the head of a state department.<ref name=":0" /> He stepped down from the cabinet post on July 1, 1985, due to health problems.<ref name=":0" />

== Death and legacy ==
Shoemaker died of cancer in 1985 while serving as lieutenant governor.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} He had been confined to his home in [[Bourneville, Ohio|Bourneville]] for several months.<ref name=":0" />

His son [[Mike Shoemaker]] succeeded him in the state house, and went on to serve in the [[Ohio State Senate]]

The Convocation center on the campus of the [[University of Cincinnati]] bears his name. The main arena has been sponsored by [[Fifth Third Bank]] since 2005, and is legally named "[[Fifth Third Arena]] at Shoemaker Center".

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:MyrlShoemakerGrave.JPG|Headstone of Myrl Shoemaker located in Twin Township Cemetery in Bourneville, Ohio.
File:Myrl Shoemaker grave marker.JPG|Grave marker of Myrl Shoemaker.
</gallery>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=Michael Dorrian}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[Lieutenant Governor of Ohio]]|years=1982}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Paul Leonard (politician)|Paul Leonard]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box
|before=[[George Voinovich]]
|title=[[Lieutenant Governor of Ohio]]
|years=1983–1985
|after=[[Paul R. Leonard]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Governors of Ohio}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shoemaker, Myrl}}
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Lieutenant governors of Ohio]]
[[Category:1913 births]]
[[Category:1985 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Ohio]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Ohio General Assembly]]


{{Ohio-OHRepresentative-stub}}