Olene Walker, 2003
Utah’s first female governor, Olene Walker was born in 1930 in Ogden. Her parents T.O. Smith and Nina Hadley, were both educators. She graduated from Weber High School then attended Weber State for one year on a debate scholarship. She transferred to Brigham Young University and graduated with a degree in political science. In 1954 she graduated from Stanford University with a master’s degree in political science. Later that year she married Myron Walker, and they were the parents of seven children.
Walker became a member of the Utah State Legislature in 1980 where she served for eight years. In her second legislative term, she was named chairwoman of the powerful Appropriations Committee. Her peers elected her assistant majority whip in her third term and majority whip in her fourth term. She was also responsible for the state Rainy Day Fund and served as chair of the Workforce Task Force, creating the Department Workforce Services.
In 1992 she was elected Lt. Governor with Mike Leavitt as Governor. For ten years, Olene spearheaded many important initiatives including education programs, budget security measures, healthcare reform and workforce development. She led the Healthcare Reform Task Force that established the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), ensuring affordable healthcare for Utah’s children.
After former governor Mike Leavitt was nominated to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, Walker became governor in 2003. During her tenure, she championed education and established statewide programs to encourage early literacy skills and to help children in foster care transition to adulthood. She also took on issues related to public lands and tax reform.
The Salt Lake Tribune described her as “a shrewd politician” and said she had “a palpable feel for the people who live [in Utah] and for their needs and aspirations. She seems the kind of person our forefathers had in mind when they aspired to create a government ‘of the people, by the people, and for the people.’”
Walker organized the Olene S. Walker Institute of Politics & Public Service in 2012 at Weber State. Their mission is to instill in WSU students and in the community the ideals of public service and political engagement. Olene Walker passed away in 2015.
Olene and Myron Walker
Thomas and Clara Smith’s family
