Category: Arizona’s Own

481) Rose Mofford

Courtesy of the Historical League

481: Rose Mofford

The First Female Governor of Arizona

Born: 10 June 1922, Globe, Arizona, United States of America

Died: 15 September 2016, Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America

Rose previously served as the First Female Secretary of the State of Arizona. Her role as “first” in anything started in high school, when she was the first female class president at Globe High School. She was also the class valedictorian and an athlete who played softball in Madison Square Garden in 1939.

Before beginning to work in state government, Rose previously worked for Arizona Highways Magazine. She was also the first woman elected director of the Central Arizona Water Board.

Her career spanned fifty-one years in the state government starting as an office secretary. When she finally achieve the office of governor, it wasn’t through being elected. Rose become the governor of the state after the former governor, Evan Mecham, was impeached and removed from office.

Rose served as governor from 1988 to 1991, declining to run for a full term. She was a member of the Democrat Political Party.

In 2019, The State Board on Geographic and Historic Names for the state of Arizona approved a new measure to name a twenty-five mile stretch of highway between Apache Junction and Globe after Governor Mofford.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Sources:

https://azsos.gov/about-office/secretaries-since-statehood/rose-mofford

https://www.nga.org/governor/rose-mofford/

https://www.arizonahighways.com/blog/part-us-route-60-be-named-rose-mofford

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/169960453/rose-mofford

456) Kayla Mueller

Courtesy of the Christian Broadcasting Network

"As long as I live, I will not let suffering be normal."

456: Kayla Mueller

Human Rights Activist and Christian Aid Worker

Born: 14 August 1988, Prescott, Arizona, United States of America

Died: 6 February 2015, Syria

Kayla was taken captive by the Islamic State after leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria. She was held for a year and a half and subjected to torture and rape by the leader of ISIL; with him even declaring Kayla was his wife.

In February of 2015—after the Islamic State tweeted that Kayla had been killed in a bombing, President Obama announced her death—however, as of 2018, Kayla’s parents are saying the only proof they have of their daughter’s death is an email from the Islamic State claiming she was given Islamic Rites before burial in an undisclosed location—and the photos for “proof of death” were deemed scientifically inconclusive by an expert hired by her parents.

Three ISIL members have been captured who are known to have had a hand in Kayla’s torture and yet as of September 2018 none of them were charged with crimes against her in the United States or anywhere else.

In late 2019, President Trump authorized a raid that led to the eventual death of the leader of ISIL. The raid was named in honor of Kayla.

Her parents are waiting for news as to the whereabouts of Kayla’s body, and for justice to be served.

According to the book Killing the Killers: The Secret War Against Terrorism by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard, Kayla's exact date of death was given by a high-ranking, female ISIL member, who was in charge of holding Kayla hostage for a time. The woman also held Yazidi women who had been kidnapped hostage as well. Thousands of Yazidi women have been taken by ISIL to use as sex-slaves.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Located In My Personal Library:

Killing the Killers: The Secret War Against Terrorists by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard

Sources:

https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/kayla-muellers-parents-speak-out-in-wake-of-trump-announcement-of-islamic-state-leaders-death

https://abcnews.go.com/US/family-slain-isis-hostage-kayla-mueller-secretly-met/story?id=66573404

https://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2015/02/10/kayla-s-family-never-nixed-rescue-plan

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/142282271/kayla-jean-mueller

Entries Born in Arizona, United States of America

These are the entries born in the state of Arizona in the United States of America.

Entries:

  1. Sergeant Brandon Mendoza, Mesa Police Officer Who Will Always Be Missed by the Community
  2. Ethel Robertson Macia, The First Lady of Tombstone
  3. Kayla Mueller, Christian Aid Worker Taken Captive and Murdered by the Islamic State
  4. Mary Page Handy, Pioneer Whose Life Reads Like a Greek Tragedy
  5. Rose Mofford, The First Female Governor of Arizona
  6. Tardar Sauce, The Real Kitty Known as "Grumpy Cat"

The United States

This Page is a Directory Page For the States, Territories, and Other Places That Fall Under the Umbrella of the United States. If the entry is highlighted orange then that means entries who were born there have been uploaded. If they are grey, hopefully that means entries are coming soon!

States, Territories, and More:

  1. Alabama
  2. Alaska
  3. American Samoa
  4. Arizona
  5. Arkansas
  6. California
  7. Colorado
  8. Connecticut
  9. Delaware
  10. Florida
  11. Georgia
  12. Guam
  13. Hawaii
  14. Idaho
  15. Illinois
  16. Indiana
  17. Iowa
  18. Kansas
  19. Kentucky
  20. Louisiana
  21. Maine
  22. Maryland
  23. Massachusetts
  24. Michigan
  25. Minnesota
  26. Mississippi
  27. Missouri
  28. Montana
  29. Nebraska
  30. Nevada
  31. New Hampshire
  32. New Jersey
  33. New Mexico
  34. New York
  35. North Carolina
  36. North Dakota
  37. Northern Mariana Islands
  38. Ohio
  39. Oklahoma
  40. Oregon
  41. Pennsylvania
  42. Puerto Rico
  43. Rhode Island
  44. South Carolina
  45. South Dakota
  46. Tennessee
  47. Texas
  48. Utah
  49. Vermont
  50. Virgin Islands
  51. Virginia
  52. Washington DC
  53. Washington State
  54. West Virginia
  55. Wisconsin
  56. Wyoming

124) Sergeant Brandon Mendoza

Courtesy of the Sergeant Brandon Mendoza Memorial Fund

124: Sergeant Brandon Mendoza

Mesa Police Sergeant 

Born: 12 February 1982, Mesa, Arizona, United States of America

Died: 12 May 2014, Phoenix, Arizona, United States of America

The man who killed Sergeant Mendoza was four times the legal limit on blood alcohol and had been taking meth and had driven thirty-five miles on four different freeways before hitting Sergeant Mendoza’s car.

The man was also an illegal alien.

Sergeant Mendoza wasn’t even on duty at the time—he was driving home from work.

Sergeant Mendoza worked in the community to make our city safer, bring rental properties up to code, and inspire children to want to be police officers themselves someday, making his death all the more tragic.

Badges Earned:

Find a Grave Marked

Sources:
http://www.sgtbrandonmendoza.org/

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/129827460/brandon-mendoza