Lindy and Hale were ahead of their time in Louisiana in support of civil rights. Though Lindy's life was not without deep sadness, as both her husband and daughter died untimely deaths, she courageously carried on after being elected to Congress and in her retirement, for she never retired from doing good.Marie Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs, usually known as Lindy Boggs (March 13, 1916 – July 27, 2013), was a United States political figure who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and later as United States Ambassador to the Holy See. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Louisiana. She was also a permanent chairwoman of the 1976 Democratic National Convention, which made her the first female to preside over a major party convention.
She is the widow of former House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, and the mother of three children: Cokie Roberts (a television news commentator), Thomas Hale Boggs, Jr., (a prominent lobbyist), and the late Barbara Boggs Sigmund, a mayor of Princeton, New Jersey, and a candidate in the 1982 New Jersey Democratic senatorial primary election. No female representative from Louisiana has served in the House since Boggs left office.
From WWLTV:
In a 2000 interview recounting the tragedy which thrust her into a political career, Mrs. Boggs displayed the grace and charm for which she was known.Read the rest of the lovely tribute to Lindy, the steel magnolia, icon to many women, especially southern women, who had such "grace and charm", and who was never challenged by an opponent in the 19 years she served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“I’ve been very privileged. I’ve had some heartaches, but I’ve also had some wonderful privileges,” she said.
....
[Cokie] Roberts called her mother "a trailblazer for women and the disadvantaged."
When Boggs announced her retirement in 1990, she was the only white representing a black-majority district in Congress. "I am proud to have played a small role in opening doors for blacks and women," she said at the time.
Lindy was born on a plantation in Pointe Coupee Parish, where Grandpère spent his childhood and youth on a small farm. She was cousin to Mayor deLesseps "Chep" Morrison, who is thought by many to be one of the best mayors New Orleans ever had.
O God, whose mercies cannot be numbered: Accept our
prayers on behalf of your servant Lindy, and grant her an
entrance into the land of light and joy, in the fellowship of
your saints; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and
reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for
ever. Amen.
(Book of Common Prayer)
