Mayor of Memphis from 1972 to 1982. He was the adopted son of a previous Mayor of Memphis, and US Congressman, Walter "Clift" Chandler. He was elected to office three times beginning in 1972. He was mayor of the city during the fateful summer of 1977 when Elvis Presley died at his Graceland Mansion in Memphis, the town filled up with mourners and both the police and fire departments went on strike. His tenure as mayor also included the redevelopment of Beale Street and the development of Mud Island. He resigned his post as mayor in 1982 to accept a seat as judge on the Circuit Court, where he served until his death.
Wyeth Chandler lived his life as a "mans man", living in working class neighborhoods all his life, hanging out at Zinnies with his beer-guzzeling friends, and getting into the occasional fist fight. He was not easily pushed around, either as Mayor, or as a Judge.
He died at his Bartlett home of a heart attack while cutting his grass. The ambulance that was called, was delayed due to a dispute by Memphis and Bartlett dispatchers on who should take the call.
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John Wyeth Chandler married Beatrice Hatcher, Lincoln County, Tennessee, 12/21/1950.
Mayor of Memphis from 1972 to 1982. He was the adopted son of a previous Mayor of Memphis, and US Congressman, Walter "Clift" Chandler. He was elected to office three times beginning in 1972. He was mayor of the city during the fateful summer of 1977 when Elvis Presley died at his Graceland Mansion in Memphis, the town filled up with mourners and both the police and fire departments went on strike. His tenure as mayor also included the redevelopment of Beale Street and the development of Mud Island. He resigned his post as mayor in 1982 to accept a seat as judge on the Circuit Court, where he served until his death.
Wyeth Chandler lived his life as a "mans man", living in working class neighborhoods all his life, hanging out at Zinnies with his beer-guzzeling friends, and getting into the occasional fist fight. He was not easily pushed around, either as Mayor, or as a Judge.
He died at his Bartlett home of a heart attack while cutting his grass. The ambulance that was called, was delayed due to a dispute by Memphis and Bartlett dispatchers on who should take the call.
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John Wyeth Chandler married Beatrice Hatcher, Lincoln County, Tennessee, 12/21/1950.
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