George Nigh

Nigh was born in McAlester, Oklahoma, on June 9, 1927, and was the son of Wilbur R. and Irene Crockett Nigh. He had four siblings and worked at a grocery store as a child before graduating from McAlester High School in 1945. He joined the United States Navy in 1945 and served on the USS Ranger before leaving the navy to attend college in 1946. He graduated from Eastern Oklahoma State College with an associate's in liberal arts in 1948 and East Central University with a teaching degree in 1950. While a student at East Central University in 1950, he ran for the Oklahoma House of Representatives and won. He was the brother of William Nigh, an Oklahoma representative. ==Political career==

From 1951 to 1959, Nigh alternated between service in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, and as a teacher in the McAlester public schools. During his tenure in the state legislature, he introduced legislation designating "Oklahoma!" as the state song. Nigh ran for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma in 1958; he finished second in the Democratic primary behind Cowboy Pink Williams with 80,727 votes (18.77%) to Williams' 176,171 votes (40.97%). Nigh defeated Williams in the runoff with 302,050 votes (61.32%) to 190,530 (38.68%). Williams himself had finished second behind incumbent lieutenant governor James E. Berry in the 1954 Democratic primary, before beating him in the runoff. In the general election, Nigh beat Republican George B. Sherritt in a landslide by 384,431 votes (76.86%) to 100,068 (20.01%). Nigh had remained a bachelor until after he left public office for the first time. He met his future wife, Donna Mashburn, following his initial nine-day term as governor in 1963 and married her on October 19, 1963. When they met, Donna already had a young son. The Nighs later had a daughter together. In 1970, he beat future district judge Ralph Gordon Thompson. Nigh served as the tenth lieutenant governor from January 9, 1967, to January 3, 1979, making him the second longest-serving Oklahoma lieutenant governor in state history with 16 years of service. Governor of Oklahoma When incumbent governor David Boren chose not to seek reelection, Nigh ran for Governor again in 1978. He came first in the Democratic primary with 276,910 votes (49.94%), narrowly short of avoiding a runoff against Oklahoma Attorney General Larry Derryberry, who took 208,055 votes (37.53%). However, in the runoff, Nigh defeated him easily, with 269,681 votes (57.73%) to Derryberry's 197,457 (42.27%). Nigh defeated Republican Ron Shotts in the general election with 402,240 votes (51.74%) to Shotts' 367,055 (47.22%) and thereby became the first Oklahoma Governor to serve a second term. Nigh took office five days early, as a result of outgoing Governor David Boren's swearing-in as a U.S. Senator. He ran for a second term in 1982 becoming the third governor to do so, and defeated token opposition in the Democratic primary with 379,301 votes (82.63%) as well as Republican State Auditor Tom Daxon in the general election by 548,159 votes (62.07%) to 332,207 (37.62%), carrying all 77 of the state's counties. It was the first reelection of an Oklahoma Governor. At the inaugural address for his second full term, Nigh quoted the Pogo comic strip: "We have found the enemy, and he is us." Executive Branch Reform Act of 1986 Nigh appointed the Nigh Commission to recommend changes to state government. During his two consecutive terms of office, Nigh signed the Executive Branch Reform Act of 1986, which regrouped the executive branch into agency function categories, although stopping short of consolidation of the more than 250 agencies, boards, and commissions. Nigh also signed into law the Oklahoma Franchise Tax Code, which established the franchise tax in Oklahoma. Other accomplishments Nigh is also credited with having increased the numbers of minorities serving on state boards and commissions, as well as management of state agencies. He appointed the first two women, Yvonne Kauger and Alma Wilson to serve as Justices of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. ==Later life and death==

Following his term as governor, Nigh served as president of the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) from 1992 to 1997. During his tenure as UCO president, Nigh supervised construction projects that transformed UCO from a mostly commuter institution to much more of a regional university with residential dormitories. He served on the board of directors of JCPenney and IBC Bank. In 1990, he was inducted into the Oklahoma CareerTech Hall of Fame On April 28, 2010, Nigh and his wife were robbed at gunpoint in the driveway of their northwest Oklahoma City home. They were uninjured, though Nigh's wallet was taken. It was reported that no suspect was found. Nigh died on July 30, 2025, at the age of 98. ==References==