Lady Bird Johnson, 1912-2007

[There is no shortage of testimonials about Lady Bird Johnson. The majority of the biographical information below comes from the Lady Bird Johnson Final Tribute page, being hosted on the website for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.]

A significant loss for our country this week. With the passing of Lady Bird Johnson, America is down a first lady, and a real lady at that. Lady Bird Johnson died this week at her home in Austin, Texas. In failing health for several years, she was 94 years old, but that does not earn her the record as the longest-lived First Lady. That record is held by Bess Truman, who died in 1982 at the age of 97. Lady Bird lived nearly 25 years longer than her husband, who died of a heart attack in 1973.

Lady Bird inspired the passage of the Beautification Act of 1965, which made environmentalism a top priority in the United States. The Johnsons had a true political marriage, serving as Lyndon Johnson's closest advisor as he rose from Congressman to Senator to Vice President to President.

Claudia Alta Taylor's mother died when she was five years old. She graduated high school and enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin, graduating with two Bachelor's degrees, one in journalism and the second in History.

Lady Bird met a tall, ambitious man when Lyndon Johnson was a Congressional secretary visiting Austin on official business. They were engaged just seven weeks after their first date and married in November 1934. Mrs. Johnson recalled that “sometimes Lyndon simply [took] your breath away.” Her life with Lyndon Johnson was one of such achievement in politics, business and philanthropy it left those around them breathless, too.

Lady Bird was a tireless campaigner and political "operative." While Lyndon served in World War II, she ran his Congressional office singlehandedly. In 1960, she covered 35,000 miles for the Kennedy/Johnson ticket. When Lyndon ran for election in his own right in 1964, she campaigned independently on a whistle-stop train throughout the South for the ticket.

There is the indelible image of a grim-faced Lady Bird Johnson standing next to her husband on the fateful November day in 1963 when Lyndon Johnson became the 36th President of the United States after the assassination of John Kennedy. There was a recent exhibit at the National Archives in Washington, DC, "Eyewitness to History," in which Lady Bird captured her thoughts on the days events. You can read them here. You can hear her words here.

There has been a fair amount of archival content in the news this week. More to come tomorrow. For now, rest well, Lady Bird.