Lenore Romney
Lenore LaFount Romney was the First Lady of Michigan from 1963 to 1969. She was the Republican Party nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1970.
Lenore was born on November 9, 1908, in Logan, Utah, and reared in Salt Lake City. She earned a degree from George Washington University in 1929. She also attended the University of Utah.
In 1927, she was one of a group of six young women chosen to welcome Charles Lindbergh to Salt Lake City following his historic Spirit of St. Louis flight.[1]
She also studied acting at the American Laboratory Theatre in New York and appeared in small roles in a number of MGM films. She also worked as a voice actor in animated cartoons. Talent scouts for NBC had also offered her the opportunity to appear in a series of Shakespeare radio programs, which she turned down. She reportedly “was dismayed by some of the seamier aspects of Hollywood.”[2]
She married George W. Romney in the Salt Lake Temple in July 1931. After her marriage, she directed student plays at George Washington University and, during 1933–1934, hosted a 15-minute weekly program, Petical Hitchhiking on radio station WRC. She was the mother of two daughters and two sons, including U.S. Senator Mitt Romney.
She served in numerous charitable and cultural organizations, such as co-chair of the Muscular Dystrophy Association. She served with the American Mothers Committee, was on the national board of directors of the YWCA, and a member of a national advisory board to the American Field Services. She had also held high positions with Goodwill Industries, United Community Services, Child Guidance Study, Association for Retarded Children, Michigan Association for Emotionally Disturbed Children, and the Michigan Historical Society. She worked with Project HOPE, the National Center for Voluntary Action, and National Conference of Christians and Jews. She was an advocate for women in business and politics. She was chair of the Detroit Grand Opera Association and was active with the Women's Association for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Her views on many social issues were more liberal than most of the Republican Party, and she appeared on stage with Martin Luther King Jr. at Michigan State University on March 9, 1966, when King gave his "Chicago Wall" speech. On the issue of the Church policy of the time that did not allow black people in its lay clergy, she defended the church, saying, "If my church taught me anything other than that the Negro is equal to any other person, I could not accept it.”[3]
Lenore also campaigned for her husband’s gubernatorial run and reelection and made many speeches before groups of Republican women. She also campaigned for him in his 1968 presidential campaign—he withdrew in February 1868 when it was clear that Richard Nixon would be the party’s nomination.
In 1969, Lenore received the Woman of the Year Award from Brigham Young University. She was named one of the National Top Ten Women News Makers for 1970. She was given the Salvation Army's Humanitarian Award, Michigan State University's Distinguished Citizen Award, and also received recognition from Hadassah and the International Platform Association.
Lenore was awarded six honorary degrees. She died on July 7, 1998. She was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
