Walter C. Urbigkit, Jr., was born in Burris, Wyoming, November 9, 1927, to Walter C. and Bertha (Miller) Urbigkit. His parents came to Wyoming prior to World War I and ranched in the Crowheart area. Urbigkit graduated from Fremont County Vocational High School (now Lander Valley High School) in Lander in 1945. He completed a bachelor’s degree at the University of Wyoming in 1949. He earned his law degree from the University of Wyoming College of Law, graduating in 1951. He served in the army during the Korean War.

After two years as an attorney for the Veterans Administration, he began a private law practice in Cheyenne in 1955. He served as an assistant county attorney in Laramie County for two years. He was elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives in 1972, serving through 1984.

On November 1, 1985, he accepted appointment to the Wyoming Supreme Court. He began a term as chief justice on June 30, 1990. He was defeated in a retention election in November 1992.

Urbigkit died October 31, 2011.

Additional Resources

•  Walter Urbigkit obituary, Wyoming Tribune Eagle, 11/2/2011