Bernice E. Layne Brown (November 19, 1908 – May 9, 2002) was the wife of the 32nd

governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...

Edmund "Pat" Brown and the mother of the 34th and 39th governor of California,

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...

. Bernice Layne was born on November 19, 1908, in

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, the daughter of Alice (née Cuneo) and Arthur Layne. Future governor Pat Brown had been three years ahead of her in the same high school, and in spite of her parents's misgivings about her youth, Brown was allowed to begin seeing her socially when she was 13. A 1928 graduate of

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, she began a career in teaching, in an era when women teachers were put on a 3-year probation that denied them the right to marry until their 4th year in the profession. Choosing love over a career, Bernice and Pat ran off to

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

, and married on October 30, 1930. They had four children: Jerry, Kathleen, Cynthia and Barbara, all born in San Francisco. Bernice Brown became first lady of California after her husband defeated

William Knowland William Fife Knowland (June 26, 1908 – February 23, 1974) was an American politician and newspaper publisher. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from California from 1945 to 1959. He was Senate Majority L ...

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

. She was known for being a great speaker, and often made references to family life. In

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

, her husband was elected to a second term, defeating

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

. Pat Brown's bid for a third term in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

ended in defeat to future U.S president

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

. She lived to see her son Jerry serve two terms as governor (1975–1983), and died May 9, 2002, at age 93.

References

1908 births 2002 deaths First ladies and gentlemen of California Brown family (California) Politicians from Los Angeles 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century California politicians {{California-politician-stub