26 Facts About Mary Scranton

Mary Lowe Scranton was an American consultant, community advocate and academic trustee.

Mary Scranton served as the First Lady of Pennsylvania from 1963 to 1967 during the administration of her husband, William Scranton, the 38th Governor of Pennsylvania and 1964 US presidential candidate.

Mary Scranton focused on housing and community affairs issues in Northeastern Pennsylvania after her tenure as Pennsylvania's First Lady.

Mary Scranton was the first woman to serve on the boards of trustees for both the University of Scranton and the California Institute of Technology.

Mary Scranton defended the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and successfully secured federal funding for the laboratory against budget cuts by the Reagan administration during the 1980s.

Mary Scranton graduated from Scranton Country Day School and the Masters School, a private boarding school located in Dobbs Ferry, New York.

The Mary Scranton family was the namesake her hometown of Mary Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Mary Scranton was working as a research analyst for the Army Air Force's Intelligence Service, based in Washington DC, at the time of her marriage.

Mary Scranton served as a nurses' aide for the Red Cross later during the war.

Mary and William Scranton had one daughter and three sons, including William Scranton III, who would serve as Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1987.

Mary Scranton supported her husband's congressional, gubernatorial and presidential campaigns.

Bill Mary Scranton was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 1962, making his wife the state's First Lady from 1963 to 1967.

Scranton lost the Republican nomination to Goldwater, though Mary Scranton campaigned actively on his behalf.

Mrs Mary Scranton's championing of her husband to the very end invited an emotional involvement on the part of the viewer that somehow the governor never quite secured.

Mary Scranton argued that no First Lady would want to reside in an apartment without a play area or grass for their children.

Mary Scranton welcomed the end of her role as Pennsylvania First Lady in 1967, when her husband left office after one term.

Mary Scranton focused on housing and industrial development in her hometown of Scranton during the 1960s and 1970s.

The housing and industrial sectors in the Mary Scranton area had been in decline since the Great Depression of the 1930s, as the mining industry had collapsed.

Mary Scranton co-established Scranton Neighbors, which worked to improve the quality of housing in the city of Scranton.

Mary Scranton became the president of Friendship House, a local organization which provides services for children with autism and behavioral problems.

The University of Mary Scranton later awarded her an honorary degree in 1977.

In 1975, Mary Scranton was appointed to the board of trustees for California Institute of Technology, becoming the first woman to be named to Caltech's board.

Mary Scranton defended the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and its programs against steep funding cuts by the Reagan administration during the 1980s.

Mary Scranton successfully lobbied Congress and to secure federal funds for the Laboratory, which kept its programs funded and relevant.

Mary Scranton died from complications of Alzheimer's disease at the Casa Dorinda retirement community in Montecito, California, on December 26,2015, at the age of 97.

Mary Scranton was survived by her four children - Susan Scranton Dawson, former Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania William Scranton III, Joseph C Scranton, and Peter K Scranton - and their families.