Lurleen Wallace

Lurleen B. Wallace (September 19, 1926 – May 7, 1968), born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was the Governor of Alabama from 1967 until her death in 1968. She was the first wife of Alabama Governor George Wallace, whom she succeeded as governor. She was Alabama's first, and to date, only female governor. She was also the first and so far only female governor in U.S. history to die in office. Lurleen Brigham Burns was born to Henry and Estelle Burroughs B... more

Lurleen B. Wallace (September 19, 1926 – May 7, 1968), born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, was the Governor of Alabama from 1967 until her death in 1968. She was the first wife of Alabama Governor George Wallace, whom she succeeded as governor. She was Alabama's first, and to date, only female governor. She was also the first and so far only female governor in U.S. history to die in office. Lurleen Brigham Burns was born to Henry and Estelle Burroughs Burns of Fosters, Alabama in Tuscaloosa County. She graduated from Tuscaloosa County High School in 1942 at 15 by taking summer classes. She then worked at Kresge’s Five and Dime in Tuscaloosa, where she met George Wallace. At the time he was a member of the U. S. Army Air Corps. They were married on May 21, 1943 when she was 16. Over the next 20 years, she focused on being a mother and a homemaker. She and her husband had four children. They were Bobbi Jo (1944) Parsons, Peggy Sue (1950) Kennedy, George III (1951), and Janie Lee (1961) Dye,... less