Mary Stuart Lux
Mary Stuart Lux (Democrat) represented
[the 22nd] district of Thurston County in the House of Representatives for two terms, from 1964 to 1968.
Born 1920, in Utica, New York, Lux was the eldest of four children. She attended William Smith College (B.A.), Johns Hopkins (R.N.) and Cornell University (M.S.). In 1945 she served as an Army nurse. She recalls that it was the ideals of the civil rights movement that motivated her to become politically involved. The mother of five children, Lux was concerned with education as well and was elected to the Thurston County School Board in 1959. Her leadership in community affairs and the Democratic Party induced the Young Democrats to ask her to be their 1962 candidate for the House. Though her campaign failed, Lux knew she would make a good legislator. In 1964 she campaigned again against an opponent that used the question, "Who would care for her children?" as a means of undermining her support. Well known, and respected for her school board work, Lux won.
Representative Lux continued her support of education in the House and was a leading figure in the creation of The Evergreen State College.
--Political Pioneers, The Women Lawmakers
Born 1920, in Utica, New York, Lux was the eldest of four children. She attended William Smith College (B.A.), Johns Hopkins (R.N.) and Cornell University (M.S.). In 1945 she served as an Army nurse. She recalls that it was the ideals of the civil rights movement that motivated her to become politically involved. The mother of five children, Lux was concerned with education as well and was elected to the Thurston County School Board in 1959. Her leadership in community affairs and the Democratic Party induced the Young Democrats to ask her to be their 1962 candidate for the House. Though her campaign failed, Lux knew she would make a good legislator. In 1964 she campaigned again against an opponent that used the question, "Who would care for her children?" as a means of undermining her support. Well known, and respected for her school board work, Lux won.
Representative Lux continued her support of education in the House and was a leading figure in the creation of The Evergreen State College.
--Political Pioneers, The Women Lawmakers