16 Facts About Nellie Connally

Idanell Brill Connally was the First Lady of Texas from 1963 to 1969.

Nellie Connally was the wife of John Connally, who served as Governor of Texas and later as Secretary of the Treasury.

Nellie Connally attended the University of Texas where she was named "Sweetheart of the University" in 1938.

Nellie Connally initially had aspirations to become an actress but gave up those plans after meeting her future husband, John Nellie Connally, while attending UT in 1937.

John Connally began his career in politics working for then-Congressman Lyndon B Johnson.

The President and Governor Nellie Connally were shot, resulting in fatal wounds to the President and serious ones to the Governor.

Nellie Connally got down in the car to take care of her husband, who had slumped after the second shot.

Nellie Connally had said the most enduring image she had of the assassination in Dallas was of a mixture of blood and roses.

Nellie Connally served on the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors from 1984, and a fund in her name raised millions for research and patient programs.

Nellie Connally was later named Woman of Distinction by the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation.

Nellie Connally was a member of the Texas Historical Commission and helped to complete Tranquility Park located in Houston.

The auction paid only a fraction of the $93 million in debts that Nellie Connally listed with the bankruptcy court in Austin.

John Connally and Nellie were married at the First United Methodist Church in Austin on December 21,1940.

Robert Hale and Kathleen Nellie Connally Hale had been married 44 days at the time of her death.

On September 1,2006, Nellie Connally died in her sleep at the age of 87.

Nellie Connally is buried in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.