Lenore Romney
| Lenore Romney | |
|---|---|
 Romney with George Romney and Richard Nixon, January 22, 1969 |
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| Born | Lenore Emily[citation needed] LaFount November 9, 1908 Logan, Utah |
| Died | July 7, 1998 (aged 89) Michigan |
| Resting place | Fairview Cemetery in Brighton, Michigan |
| Political party | Republican |
| Religion | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) |
| Spouse | George W. Romney (m. 1931–1995) |
| Children | G. Scott Romney Lynn Kennan Jane Romney Mitt Romney |
| Parents | Harold Arundel LaFount (1880-1952) Alma Luella Robison (1882-1938) |
| Notes | |
Lenore LaFount Romney (November 9, 1908–July 7, 1998) was the former First Lady of Michigan and later a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1970 from Michigan. Her husband, George Romney was the former Governor of Michigan, presidential candidate in 1968 and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Romney's youngest son, Mitt Romney was the former Governor of Massachusetts as well as U.S. presidential candidate in 2008 and again in 2012.
[edit] Life and career
Romney was born Lenore LaFount in Logan, Utah, the daughter of Alma Luella (née Robison; 1882-1938) and Harold Arundel LaFount (1880-1952). Her father was born in Birmingham in England, and her mother, born in Montpelier, Idaho, was of colonial English ancestry.[3]
In her junior year, Lenore LaFount and senior George W. Romney became high school sweethearts;[4][5] she was from a more well-assimilated Mormon family.[6][7]
After Calvin Coolidge appointed her father to serve on the Federal Radio Commission, LaFount moved to Washington with her family, followed by Romney.[8] LaFount, who was an aspiring actress, had the opportunity to sign a $50,000, three-year contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios, but Romney convinced her to return to Washington[9] where he worked for Alcoa and the Aluminum Wares Association as a lobbyist.[10] Lenore LaFound married George Romney on July 2, 1931 in Salt Lake City, Utah. They had four children, Lynn, Jane, G. Scott Romney, and politician Mitt Romney, who was elected Governor of Massachusetts in 2002.
In Washington, Lenore's cultural refinement and hosting skills helped him in business, and the couple met the Hoovers, the Roosevelts, and other prominent Washington figures.[6][11]
The couple later moved to Michigan, where George Romney worked as a nationally visible automobile executive. In 1954, Romney was named Chairman and CEO of the American Motors Corporation.[9] [12]
When her husband was elected Governor of Michigan in November 1962, Lenore became the state's first lady. After the 1968 presidential election, George Romney was named the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the administration of President Richard Nixon and the Romney family returned to Washington.
Mrs. Romney was an unsuccessful candidate for U. S. Senate in 1970. By early 1970, Nixon decided he wanted George Romney out of his administration.[13] Nixon, who hated having to fire people[14] and was, as Ehrlichman later described, "notoriously inadept" at it,[15] instead hatched a plot to get Romney to run in the 1970 U.S. Senate race in Michigan.[13] Lenore Romney ended up running instead. After winning a tight nominating contest against Robert Huber, a conservative state senator from Oakland County, Lenore Romney lost the general election to popular Incumbent Democrat Senator Philip A. Hart, who won re-election handily with 67% of the vote.[16]
Lenore Romney died in Michigan and is interred in Fairview Cemetery in Brighton, Michigan, in the same grave as her husband.
[edit] References
- ^ Rosenbaum, David E. (27 July 1995). "George Romney Dies at 88; A Leading G.O.P. Figure" (fee, via Fairfax County Public Library). New York Times (New York, N.Y.): p. A1. ISSN 03624331. ProQuest document ID 109520536. http://search.proquest.com/docview/109520536?accountid=34227.National Newspapers Core.
- ^ Reitwiesner, William Addams; Robert Battle, John Bradley Arthaud, John Lisle, Gary Boyd Roberts. "The Ancestors of Mitt Romney". http://www.wargs.com/political/romney.html. Retrieved 2011-11-22.
- ^ "The Ancestors of Mitt Romney", by William Addams Reitwiesner
- ^ Kirkpatrick, David D. (December 18, 2007). "For Romney, a Course Set Long Ago". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/us/politics/18romney.html. Retrieved December 19, 2007.
- ^ Harris, Romney's Way, p. 53.
- ^ a b Swidey, Neil; Paulson, Michael (June 24, 2007). "The Making of Mitt Romney: Privilege, tragedy, and a young leader". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/specials/romney/articles/part1_main/. Retrieved July 21, 2009. Also available as "Mitt Romney: the beginning", Deseret Morning News, July 1, 2007 (archived from the original on September 18, 2007).
- ^ Harris, Romney's Way, pp. 53–55.
- ^ Kirkpatrick, David (18 Dec 2007). "For Romney, a Course Set Long Ago" (fee, via Fairfax County Public Library). New York Times (New York, N.Y.,): p. A1. http://search.proquest.com/nationalnewscore/docview/433743873/133340646BB76F4586E/8?accountid=34227. Retrieved 2011-11-22. Proquest |format=fee
- ^ a b Raskin, A.H. (February 28, 1960). "A Maverick Starts a New 'Crusade'" (fee required). The New York Times Magazine. http://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F60E15F6345D1A728DDDA10A94DA405B808AF1D3.
- ^ Current Biography Yearbook 1958, p. 367.
- ^ Mahoney, The Story of George Romney, pp. 102–105.
- ^ Mahoney, The Story of George Romney, p. 181.
- ^ a b Kotlowski, Nixon's Civil Rights, p. 53.
- ^ Drew, Richard M. Nixon, p. 41.
- ^ "Stories of Bob: John Ehrlichman, Domestic Policy Advisor and Special Assistant to President Nixon". Frontline. PBS. May 28, 1996. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/choice/bob/erlichman.html.
- ^ "DEATHS ELSEWHERE: Lenore Romney Governor's Widow". The Washington Post (Washington, D.C.): p. B06. 12 July 1998. ProQuest document ID 408389184. http://search.proquest.com/docview/408389184?accountid=34227. Retrieved 2011-11-22. "Lenore Romney, 89, the widow of former Michigan Gov. George Romney (R) and the state's only first lady to run for the U.S. Senate, died July 7 in Lansing, Mich. The cause of death was not reported. George Romney served as board chairman and president of American Motors Corp. from 1954 to 1962, when he was elected governor. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1968, then resigned as governor in 1969 to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Richard M. Nixon. Mrs. Romney ran for the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate in 1970. She won a tight contest against Robert Huber, a conservative state senator from Oakland County but lost the general election to popular Democratic incumbent Philip Hart, who won 67 percent of the vote."
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