Mary MacCornack Forsythe (May 23, 1920 – September 6, 2007) was an American politician and music teacher. Born in

Whitehall, Wisconsin Whitehall is a city in Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Trempealeau River. The population was 1,645 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Trempealeau County. Whitehall is situated on the former Green Bay and Weste ...

, Forsythe graduated from Whitehall High School and then received her bachelor's degree from

St. Olaf College St. Olaf College is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. It was founded in 1874 by a group of Norwegian-American pastors and farmers led by Pastor Bernt Julius Muus. The college is named after the King and the Patron Saint Olaf ...

in music, where she sang in the St. Olaf Choir. She taught music in elementary and high school. Forsythe lived in Edina, Minnesota. Forsythe served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1973 to 1991 as a Republican. For her entire term in office she served on the Appropriations Committee and chaired it from 1985 to 1986. She was the Assistant Minority Leader from 1981 to 1982. Among her accomplishments in office are improvements to women's prison facilities and programs and the mandatory seat belt law for which she was the chief House sponsor. She died in Saint Paul, Minnesota.Minnesota Legislators Past and Present-Mary Forsythe
/ref>'Mary Forsythe, a pioneer in state House,' Minneapolis Star Tribune, Ben Cohen, September 16, 2007

Notes

1920 births 2007 deaths People from Edina, Minnesota People from Whitehall, Wisconsin St. Olaf College alumni Women state legislators in Minnesota Republican Party members of the Minnesota House of Representatives 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women 20th-century Minnesota politicians {{Minnesota-politician-stub