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