Elizabeth "Jean" Guy (September 8, 1922 – July 5, 2013) was an American First Lady of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

. The longest serving First Lady in North Dakota's history, she served from 1961 to 1973 during the tenure of her husband, former

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

William L. Guy, the longest-serving governor in the state's history. Described as a highly influential behind the scenes, Jean Guy has been credited with persuading William Guy to run for office, reviving the Democratic Party and the North Dakota Democratic-Nonpartisan League Party in the state during the mid-20th Century. She later served as the President of the

North Dakota State Board of Higher Education The North Dakota State Board of Higher Education (NDSBHE) is the policy-setting body for the North Dakota University System in the U.S. state of North Dakota. The eight-member board includes seven citizen members and one student member. The citize ...

, which creates policy for the

North Dakota University System The North Dakota University System (NDUS) is the public system of higher education and policy coordination entity in the U.S. state of North Dakota. The system includes all public institutions in the state including two research universities, f ...

, during the 1980s.

Biography

Guy was born Elizabeth "Jean" Mason in Selfridge, North Dakota, in 1922 to Sidney and Clara (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Bond) Mason. She earned her

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

home economics Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences (often shortened to FCS or FACS), is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and f ...

from North Dakota Agricultural College (present-day

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It was ...

) in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

, in 1944. Mason married her husband, William Guy, at a wedding ceremony held in Fargo on January 30, 1943. William Guy had served in the United States Navy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The couple moved to Amenia, North Dakota, after the war, where they raised five children. Jean Guy has been credited with encouraging her husband to enter politics as a Democrat. William Guy had originally been persuaded to run for local office as a Republican by a precinct committeeman in Cass County. Though Guy began to collect signatures for his campaign, he continued to feel that he would fit in better with the Democratic Party, which was widely outnumbered in Cass County by Republican voters. He confided to his wife that, "I am interested in politics, but there’s no future in North Dakota in politics unless you’re a part of the Republican Party." Jean Guy reportedly replied that, "Well there could be a Democratic Party in North Dakota if people wouldn’t give up before they start." Jean Guy persuaded her husband to run, which revived the fortunes of the Democratic Party in North Dakota at the time. William Guy would serve in the

North Dakota House of Representatives The North Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly and is larger than the North Dakota Senate. North Dakota is divided into between 40 and 54 legislative districts apportioned by population as ...

from 1959 to 1961 before being elected as North Dakota's longest-serving governor from 1961 to 1973. His election as Governor on the North Dakota Democratic-Nonpartisan League Party created the modern two-party system in North Dakota, which had previously been dominated by the Republican Party. Jean Guy focused on public service, education and civic affairs after completing her tenure as First Lady. She served on the advisory board for the President of

. Guy became the chairperson of the Kennedy Memorial Center Foundation, based in Bismarck, since its creation in 1968. She was also a member of the board of directors for the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation. North Dakota Governor Arthur Link appointed Jean Guy to the

(NDSBHE), which oversees the

, in 1979. She became President of the NDSBHE in 1985. In March 2012, North Dakota Democrats elected Jean Guy, along with former North Dakota First Ladies Grace Link and Jane Sinner, as the party's three electors for the

2012 United States Presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic Party (United States), Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Bi ...

. Jean Guy suffered a stroke in June 2013. She died of complications of the stroke at the Sanford Palliative Care in Fargo, North Dakota, at the age of 90. Guy died just two months after the passing of her husband, former Governor William Guy, on April 26, 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guy, Jean 1922 births 2013 deaths First ladies and gentlemen of North Dakota North Dakota Democrats Women in North Dakota politics North Dakota State University alumni People from Fargo, North Dakota People from Cass County, North Dakota People from Sioux County, North Dakota 21st-century American women

Biography

See also

References