Lady Bird Johnson

Lady Bird Johnson lived for nearly 44 years after her husband left the Vice Presidency following John F. Kennedy’s assassination in 1963. That is the longest a former Second Lady of the United States has lived after leaving office.

The second longest tenure as a former Second Lady belongs to a New Jerseyan, Jennie Tuttle Hobart, who died in 1941 -- 42 years after the death of her husband, Garrett Hobart.

If you weren't alive in the months that followed the Kennedy assassination, the death of Lady Bird Johnson probably held little meaning. She was the last of those few towering figures that moved through days of anguish with strength and grace.

The shadow that Lyndon Johnson cast over a political generation was so large that it transcended his death. No one could aspire to leadership without the counsel of his widow.

In the spring of 1981, I was a part of just such a mission. Walter Mondale had lost the Vice Presidency. He was traveling the country to prepare for a Presidential campaign in 1984 and I was his traveling aide.

Although I am saddened by her passing, I continue to be impressed by Lady Bird Johnson¹s achievements - both personal and profesional - throughout her long life.  Lady Bird Johnson was a strong woman who not only supported her husband and his career, but also made a name for herself as First Lady and as a successful businesswoman.  I will always remember Lady Bird Johnson's commitment to our natural environment and her efforts to clean up the lands around our highway system.  This beautification project, which President Johnson signed into law in the 1960s, was an important milestone in the clean-up of our environment - especially in those areas where the environment was most impacted by human action.  Lady Bird Johnson is an inspirational businesswoman, naturalist, and political leader.  My thoughts and prayers are with the Johnson family at this time.