Bess Truman

File:Bess.jpg

Elizabeth Virginia Wallace Truman (February 13, 1885 – October 18, 1982), often known as "Bess Truman", was the wife of Harry S Truman and First Lady of the United States from 1945 to 1953.

Early life

She was born to Margaret ("Madge") Gates and David Wallace on February 13, 1885, in Independence, Missouri. Christened Elizabeth Virginia, she grew up as "Bessie." Harry Truman, whose family moved to town in 1890, always kept his first impression of her -- "golden curls" and "the most beautiful blue eyes." A relative said, "there never was but one girl in the world" for him. They attended the same schools from fifth grade through high school.

After graduating from William Chrisman High School (then known as Independence High School), she studied Miss Barstow's Finishing School for Girls in Kansas City, Missouri. In 1903, her father died, and she returned to Independence to be with her mother.

Marriage and family

World War I altered a deliberate courtship for the Trumans. Lieutenant Truman proposed and they became engaged before he left for the battlefields of France in 1918. They were married on June 28, 1919; they lived in Mrs. Wallace's home, two stillborn children were born before daughter Mary Margaret was born in 1924 after several miscarriages.

When Harry Truman became active in politics, Mrs. Truman traveled with him and shared his platform appearances as the public had come to expect a candidate's wife to do. His election to the Senate in 1934 took the family to Washington, DC. He was elected Vice President in 1944. Upon F.D.R.'s death on April 12, 1945, Harry Truman took the presidential oath of office--and she managed to look on with composure and was now the new First Lady.

First Lady of the United States

White House portrait, painted by Greta Kempton.

Mrs Truman found the White House's lack of privacy distasteful. As her husband put it later, she was "not especially interested" in the "formalities and pomp or the artificiality which, as we had learned..., inevitably surround the family of the President." Though she conscientiously fulfilled the social obligations of her position, she did only what was necessary. While the mansion was rebuilt during the second term, the Trumans lived in Blair House and kept social life to a minimum. In most years of her husband's presidency, Mrs Truman was not present in Washington except for the social season when her presence was needed.

The comparison to Mrs Truman's predecessor, Eleanor Roosevelt, was marked. Unlike Mrs Roosevelt, Mrs Truman held only one press conference after many requests from the mostly female press corps assigned to her. The press conference consisted of written questions in advance of which the replies (also on paper) were mostly monosyllabic accompanied by many "no comments". Her responses to whether she wanted her daughter, Margaret, to become President was "most definitely not". Her reply to what she wanted to do after her husband left office was "return to Independence", although she had briefly entertained the thought of living in Washington after 1953.

Later life

The Trumans did indeed return to Independence in 1953, resuming their residence in the family home at 219 North Delaware Street while the former president worked on building his library and writing his memoirs. After a 1959 mastectomy, Mrs. Truman thought she was about to die considering that as Mr. Truman stated "she had a tumour the size of a basketball" although it was benign.

After her husband's death in 1972, Mrs. Truman continued to live quietly, enjoying visits from Margaret and her husband, Clifton Daniel, and their four sons. She agreed to be the honorary chairman for the reelection campaign of Sen. Thomas Eagleton (D-Missouri).

She died in 1982 from complications of congestive heart failure and was buried beside her husband in the courtyard of the Harry S. Truman Library. At the time of her death at the age of 97 years, she was the longest lived First Lady of the United States, a record that still stands. In fact, no President has yet to exceed her 97 years with the nearest to reach that age being Gerald Ford, who is currently 93 years old. The only Presidential relative to live longer than Bess Truman was Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy who died at 104 in 1995. As of 2006, at age 93.5 years, Lady Bird Johnson is the oldest surviving First Lady of the United States.

References

• Original text based on White House biography