Background
Docking, Robert Blackwell was born on October 9, 1925 in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Son of George and Mary Virginia (Blackwell) Docking.
Governor of Kansas private sector banker
Docking, Robert Blackwell was born on October 9, 1925 in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Son of George and Mary Virginia (Blackwell) Docking.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Docking attended public school in Lawrence, Kansas, before attending the University of Kansas, and served in the Air Force during World World War World War II
After the war, Docking moved to Arkansas City, Kansas, where he became a successful banker, and was elected mayor. Docking served more terms than any Kansas governor, but is tied for length of service because of a constitutional amendment approved during his final term which provided that Kansas governors serve four-year terms, and are constitutionally prohibited from running for more than two terms. He was known for his commitment to farmers, small business owners, and the environment.
After his service as governor, Docking resumed his former profession of banking in Arkansas City.
He donated his papers to the University of Kansas rather than give them to the Kansas State Historical Society, where the papers of his 34 predecessors are stored, with the exception of his father, who burned his gubernatorial papers. A State Office building across the street from the capital in Topeka, Kansas bears his name, and his bank in Arkansas City (Union State Bank), which is still owned by the Dockings, is on the National Register of Historic Places.
She was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor in the 2014 elections (Paul Davis was the gubernatorial candidate and her running mate).
Member City Commission Arkansas City, Winfield, 1963-1966. Past president Community Chest. President United Fund.
Chapter chairman American Red Cross, 1961. Chairman Kansas Cancer Crusade, 1975, Douglas County Democratic Committee, 1954-1956. Vice president Kansas Democratic Veterans, 1957.
Trustee Wesley Hospital Foundation, U. Kansas Endowment Association, Menninger Foundation, Midwest Research Institute First lieutenant United States Army Air Force, 1943-1946. Member Arkansas City Chamber of Commerce (president), American Legion (commander Arkansas Citychpt.), Cowley County Bankers Association, American Bankers Association, Indiana Oil andGas Association, Kansas Livestock Association, International Platform Association, American G.I.Forum, American Association for United Nations, U. Kansas Alumni Association (president), American Association Criminology, Masons (32 degree, Shriner), Elks, Eagles, Rotary, Beta Theta Pi, Beta Gamma Sigma, Delta Sigma Pi.
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Married Meredith Martha Gear, 1950. Children: William Russell, Thomas Robert.