Zales Ecton

Zales Nelson Ecton (April 1, 1898 – March 3, 1961) was an American attorney and Republican politician from Montana who represented the state in the United States Senate, serving from 1947 to 1953.

Early life and education Ecton was born in Weldon, Iowa on April 1, 1898. He attended the Gallatin County public schools. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business from Montana State College and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School.

Career In 1921, he became a rancher and gained interests in grain and livestock.

Entering politics, Ecton was a member of the Montana House of Representatives from 1933 to 1935 and the Montana Senate from 1936 to 1946. He served in the Senate for one term, having been narrowly defeated for reelection in 1952 by U.S. Representative Mike Mansfield, a Democratic college professor and Far Eastern expert.

While in the Senate, Ecton served on the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations, the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the Committee on the United States Post Office and Civil Service, and the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Ecton resumed his ranching business until his death in Bozeman, Montana on March 3, 1961, four weeks before his 63rd birthday. He was interred in Sunset Hills Cemetery.