Lurleen B. Wallace
46th Governor of Alabama
In office January1967 – May 7, 1968
Lieutenant(s)	Albert P. Brewer
Preceded by	George C. Wallace
Succeeded by	Albert P. Brewer
Born	September 19, 1926(1926-09-19) Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Died	May 7, 1968 (aged 41)
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	George C. Wallace

Lurleen Burns Wallace (September 19, 1926 – May 7, 1968), born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was the Governor of Alabama from 1967 until her death and first wife of Alabama Governor George Wallace. She was Alabama's first and to date only female governor. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The following is a list of the territorial and state governors of Alabama. ... is the 127th day of the year (128th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1968 Gregorian calendar. ... This is a List of Lieutenant Governors of the U.S. state of Alabama, 1868 to present. ... Albert Preston Brewer (born October 26, 1928) is an American politician who was the governor of Alabama from May, 1968 until January, 1971. ... George Corley Wallace (August 25, 1919–September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was elected Governor of Alabama (as a Democrat) four times (1962, 1970, 1974 and 1982) and ran for U.S. President (in 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976). ... Albert Preston Brewer (born October 26, 1928) is an American politician who was the governor of Alabama from May, 1968 until January, 1971. ... is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Alabama. ... Tuscaloosa is a city in west central Alabama in the southern United States. ... Official language(s) English Capital Montgomery Largest city Birmingham Area  Ranked 30th  - Total 52,419 sq mi (135,765 km²)  - Width 190 miles (306 km)  - Length 330 miles (531 km)  - % water 3. ... is the 127th day of the year (128th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1968 Gregorian calendar. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  Politics Portal      Further information: Politics of the United States#Organization of American political parties The Democratic... George Corley Wallace (August 25, 1919–September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was elected Governor of Alabama (as a Democrat) four times (1962, 1970, 1974 and 1982) and ran for U.S. President (in 1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976). ... is the 262nd day of the year (263rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 127th day of the year (128th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the 1968 Gregorian calendar. ... Tuscaloosa is a city in west central Alabama in the southern United States. ... The following is a list of the governors of Alabama. ... Official language(s) English Capital Montgomery Largest city Birmingham Area  Ranked 30th  - Total 52,419 sq mi (135,765 km²)  - Width 190 miles (306 km)  - Length 330 miles (531 km)  - % water 3. ... The following is a list of the governors of Alabama. ... George Corley Wallace, Jr. ...  Female Republican Governor  Female Democratic Governor  Female Republican and Democratic Governor Twenty-nine women have been or are currently serving as the governor of an American state, including two in an acting capacity. ...

Early years

Lurleen Burns was born to Henry and Estelle Burroughs Burns of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She graduated from Tuscaloosa County High School in 1942 at 15 by taking summer classes. She then worked at Kresge’s Five and Dime in Tuscaloosa, where she met George Wallace. At the time he was a member of the U. S. Army Air Corps. They were married on May 21, 1943 when she was just 16. The Kmart Corporation (NYSE: KMRT), based in Troy, Michigan, near Detroit, functions as a global retailer, based primarily in the United States of America. ... Five and dime was a common nickname in the United States for five-and-ten-cent stores (also called 5 and 10s), popular in the early to mid-20th century. ... Seal of the Air Force. ... May 21 is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Over the next twenty years, she focused on being a mother and a homemaker. She and George had four children. They were Bobbi Jo (1944) Parsons, Peggy Sue (1950) Kennedy, George III (1951), and Janie Lee (1961) Dye, who was named after Robert E. Lee. Born George Wallace, III, on October 17, 1951, in Eufaula, Alabama. ... // This article is about the Confederate general. ...

Mrs. Wallace assumed her duties as First Lady of Alabama in 1963 after George was elected governor. She opened the first floor of the governor's mansion to the public seven days a week. She also refused to serve alcoholic beverages at official functions. 1 This article is about the use of the term first lady internationally. ...

In 1965 Mrs. Wallace was diagnosed with uterine cancer. She had a hysterectomy to remove the early malignant tumor and received radiation therapy, but died on May 7, 1968. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Endometrial cancer. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

Governorship and illness

George Wallace had become very popular during his first term as governor (1963–1967), largely due to his opposition to racial desegregation. He could have easily won a second term in 1966 had he been eligible to stand for one. In Alabama (as in many states at the time), governors were not allowed to serve two consecutive terms. This provision was incorporated in the current state constitution in 1901. Desegregation is the process of ending racial segregation, most commonly used in reference to the United States. ... The Alabama Constitution is the basic governing document of the U.S. state of Alabama. ...

Wallace attacked this problem on two fronts. First, Wallace worked for the repeal of the term limiting provision. Although he failed to achieve the change in time for the 1966 campaign, he eventually succeeded. Wallace served three subsequent terms, including two which were consecutive. Second, Wallace devised a plan in which his wife, Lurleen, would run for governor while he controlled the policies and procedures of the governorship in the background, duplicating the strategy in which Ma Ferguson won the 1925 election for governor in Texas. Miriam Amanda Wallace “Ma” Ferguson (June 13, 1875 – June 25, 1961) became the first female Governor of Texas in 1924, and the second female state governor in the United States. ... Official language(s) No official language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Largest metro area Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ...

Wallace's attempt to change the succession rule before the 1966 campaign failed. However, using his wife as his electoral surrogate succeeded, and Mrs. Wallace won the Democratic nomination for governor in 1966. She was elected Governor of Alabama in November 1966, and was inaugurated in January 1967. Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas  Politics Portal      Further information: Politics of the United States#Organization of American political parties The Democratic...

She had made her gubernatorial run carrying a tragic secret. Lurleen Wallace had been diagnosed with cancer as early as April 1961, when her surgeon biopsied suspicious tissue he noticed during the cesarean delivery of her last child. As was common at the time, her physician told her husband, not her. George Wallace insisted that Lurleen not be informed. As a result, she did not get appropriate follow-up care. When she saw a gynecologist for abnormal bleeding in 1965, his diagnosis of uterine cancer came as a complete shock to her. When one of her husband's staffers carelessly revealed to her that Wallace had discussed her cancer with them, but not her, during his 1962 campaign three years earlier, she was outraged.^[1]

In order to facilitate his plan to use her as a surrogate candidate in 1966, Mrs. Wallace cooperated with a campaign of dissimulation and misdirection as she began radiation therapy in December, 1965. This was followed by a hysterectomy in January 1966. Despite her ill health, Mrs. Wallace maintained a brutal campaign schedule throughout 1966 and gave a 24-minute speech — her longest ever — at her January 1967 inauguration.^[1] Clinac 2100 C100 accelerator Radiation therapy (or radiotherapy) is the medical use of ionizing radiation as part of cancer treatment to control malignant cells (not to be confused with radiology, the use of radiation in medical imaging and diagnosis). ...

Early in her term, Mrs. Wallace's condition began to deteriorate. In June 1967, an abdominal growth was found. During surgery July 10, this proved to be an egg-sized malignancy on her colon. She endured a second course of radiation therapy as a followup. In January 1968, after extensive testing, she informed her staff (but not the public) that she had a cancerous pelvic tumor which was pressing on the nerves of her back down through her right hip.^[1] Even with the prior surgeries on her uterus and colon, and despite the radiation treatment, the cancer spread. The abdomen is a part of the body. ... Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these to spread, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion, or by implantation into distant sites by metastasis (where cancer cells are transported through the bloodstream or lymphatic system). ...

Her last public appearance as governor was at the 1967 Blue-Gray Football Classic, followed by a campaign appearance for her husband's presidential bid on January 11, 1968. Her illness was obvious and worsening. The pelvic tumor was removed in late February. This was followed by surgery to treat an abdominal abscess, and in late March of 1968, more surgery to dissolve a blood clot in her left lung. By April, the cancer was in her liver and lungs, and she weighed less than eighty pounds.^[1] The Blue-Gray Football Classic is an annual American college football all-star game held in Alabama in December. ... Look up Abscess in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Her husband, George Wallace, persistently lied to the press about her condition, claiming in April that "she has won the fight" against cancer. He continued to make campaign stops nationwide during her last weeks of life, but her doctors warned him she was in unstable condition on May 5, the day he was to leave for a Michigan sweep. At her request, he cancelled a television appearance May 6, when she was too ill to be moved back to the hospital. Lurleen Wallace died at 12:34 a.m. May 7, 1968, with her husband beside her and the rest of her family, including her parents, just outside her room.^[1]

She lay in state in the Capitol building May 8, and people waited as long as five hours to view her silver casket. Despite her emphatic pre-need planning request for a closed casket, her husband insisted that her body be on view, with a glass bubble over the open part of the coffin. The day of her funeral, May 9, all public and private schools closed, all state offices closed, and most businesses closed or had abbreviated hours. She was buried in Greenwood Cemetery. ^[1]

At the time of her funeral, George had moved out of the governor's mansion and back to a home they bought in Montgomery in 1967. He did not take his children, ages 18, 16, and 6, with him. They were distributed to family members and friends. (Their eldest daughter had married and left home.)^[1] Coordinates: Country United States State Alabama County Montgomery Incorporated December 3, 1819 Mayor Bobby Bright Area    - City 404. ...

Mrs. Wallace's most notable independent action as Governor was her attempt to get her husband to increase appropriations for the Bryce State Mental Hospital and the Partlow State School, a residential institution for the developmentally disabled. She had visited them in Tuscaloosa on her own initiative in February 1967 after reading a news story about overcrowding and poor staffing. She was horrified by what she saw in the filthy, barracks-like settings.^[1] Front of Bryce State Mental Hospital Bryce State Mental Hospital opened in 1861 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA, and is Alabamas oldest and largest inpatient psychiatric facility. ...

Mrs. Wallace was succeeded by Lt. Gov. Albert Brewer, a one-time ally of her husband who soon showed a strong interest to govern in his own right and retain the office in the 1970 election. Brewer gained a seemingly unlikely ally in this quest in President Richard Nixon, who wanted to neutralize Wallace as a Presidential adversary in 1972. Wallace beat Brewer and returned as governor in January 1971, remaining in office for two consecutive terms. George Wallace won and served a fourth term 1983-1987. A Lieutenant Governor is a government official who is the subordinate or deputy of a Governor or Governor-General. ... Albert Preston Brewer (born October 26, American politician who was the Governor of Alabama from May, 1968 until January, 1971. ... For other uses, see President of the United States (disambiguation). ... Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ...

Counting Lurleen Wallace's term as his surrogate, George Wallace had the remarkable achievement of winning five terms distributed over three decades to Alabama's governership, totalling over seventeen years in office. It would have been twenty if Lurleen had served four full years instead of the 17 months she survived. This record is approached, but not matched, by the fourteen year tenure in consecutive terms attained by Governor James R. Thompson of Illinois. This does not cite its references or sources. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ...

Legacies

Mrs. Wallace was remembered fondly by many as a loyal wife and a good mother. Among her major accomplishments during her brief tenure were major increases in expenditures for Mental Health including modernization of Partlow State Hospital for children and a big funding increase for State Parks. Lake Lurleen in central Alabama is named in her memory. George Wallace had two subsequent marriages, both ending in divorce. Lake in central Alabama named after Lurleen Wallace, the only woman elected Governor of Alabama to date. ...

Since Alabama was lacking adequate cancer treatment facilities at the time, Mrs. Wallace had to travel to the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas for diagnosis and treatment. This underscored the need for improved cancer care in the state. Following her death, the Lurleen Wallace Courage Crusade was spearheaded by her successor, Gov. Albert Brewer, leading to fundraising for building a new cancer center. The University of Alabama Hospital at the University of Alabama at Birmingham was selected as the site for the cancer center, and a formal cancer center program was begun in 1970. Funding was received from the National Cancer Institute, and the center became one of the first eight NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. Dr. John Durant served as its first director. Construction of the Lurleen B. Wallace Tumor Institute at UAB was begun in 1974 and was completed in 1976. The Wallace Patient Tower, an addition to University Hospital, was built in her honor. M. D. Anderson Cancer Center is a Cancer Research facility in The United States. ... Nickname: Location in the state of Texas Coordinates: , Country United States State Texas Counties Harris County Fort Bend County Montgomery County Incorporated June 5, 1837 Government  - Mayor Bill White Area  - City  601. ... Albert Preston Brewer (born October 26, American politician who was the Governor of Alabama from May, 1968 until January, 1971. ... UAB Hospital, also known as University Hospital, is a Level I trauma center hospital located in Birmingham, Alabama. ... The University of Alabama at Birmingham (also known as UAB) is a public, coeducational university located in Birmingham, Alabama, USA. The university is part of the three-member University of Alabama System, which also includes the main University of Alabama campus in Tuscaloosa (UA) and the University of Alabama in... The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is part of the United States Federal governments National Institutes of Health. ... NCI-designated Cancer Centers are a group of approximately 60 cancer research institutions in the United States supported by the National Cancer Institute. ...

External links

• ADAH page
• Pictures of her life
• Alabama Women's Hall of Fame
• Lurleen B. Wallace Community College page
• PBS American Experience
• Lurleen Wallace's Gravesite
• Wallace Tumor Institute

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} The Politics of Rage: George Wallace, by Dan T. Carter (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1995, 2000) at 277-280, 308-9, 317-322. ISBN: 0-8071-2597-0 Not available online.

• UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center History