Thomas L. Ashley
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Thomas William Ludlow "Lud" Ashley (January 11, 1923 – June 15, 2010) was an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
businessman and politician of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
. He served as a
U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
from
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
from 1955 to 1981.


Early life and education

Ashley was born on January 11, 1923, in
Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...
, and raised on the Old West End. He was the son of Mary Alida Gouverneur (
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Ludlow) Ashley and William Meredith Ashley, who owned a small steel manufacturing firm. His older brother William was killed in May 1944, at age 22, when his Army bomber exploded during a training mission over Massachusetts. Ashley attended
Maumee Valley Country Day School Maumee Valley Country Day School (or MVCDS, Maumee Valley or MV) is an independent and non-religious private school located in Toledo, Ohio. The school was founded in 1842 as an all-girls finishing school in Western New York and was moved to Tole ...
and graduated from the
Kent School Kent School is a private, co-educational, college preparatory boarding school in Kent, Connecticut, United States. Frederick Herbert Sill established the school in 1906. It is affiliated with the Episcopal Church of the United States. Acade ...
in Connecticut in 1942. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, he served in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
as a corporal in the Pacific Theater of Operations. After the war, Ashley attended
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
, where he graduated in 1948. At Yale, he was a member of the secret society
Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...
along with future U.S. President
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...
. After graduating from Yale, Ashley worked with the Toledo Publicity and Efficiency Commission. Encouraged by
Michael DiSalle Michael Vincent DiSalle (January 6, 1908September 16, 1981) was an American attorney and politician from Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as mayor of Toledo from 1948 to 1950, and as the 60th governor of Ohio from 1959 to 1963. ...
, then mayor of Toledo and later
governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
, he began studying law through night classes at the
University of Toledo College of Law The University of Toledo College of Law is the law school at the University of Toledo, and is located on the university's main campus in a residential neighborhood in western Toledo, Ohio. The school is fully accredited by the American Bar Associ ...
. He graduated from Ohio State University College of Law in 1951. He was admitted to the bar that year and began practicing law.


Career

Ashley joined the staff of
Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...
(RFE) in 1952. He served in Europe for RFE as the co-director of the press section and later the assistant director of special projects. He resigned from RFE on March 1, 1954, to run for Congress.


U.S. Congress

Ashley was elected to Congress in 1954, beating the incumbent
Frazier Reams Henry Frazier Reams Sr. (January 15, 1897 – September 15, 1971) was an American politician of the United States Democratic Party from Toledo, Ohio. Reams served as a U.S. Congressman from Ohio from 1951 to 1955. Life and career Reams was bo ...
, an independent, by 4,000 votes in a three-way race. He served 13 terms in Congress and was chairman of the Select Committee on Energy (Ad Hoc) from 1977 to 1979 and of the
United States House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries The United States House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries is a defunct committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries was created on December 21, 1887, replacing the Select Committee on Ameri ...
from 1979 to 1981. In 1961, Ashley was one of six congressmen who voted to withdraw funding for the
House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...
. He helped pass the
1964 Civil Rights Act The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. It prohibits unequal application of voter registration requir ...
and was a proponent of anti-poverty and housing legislation. In 1980, Ashley lost in an upset to Republican challenger
Ed Weber Edward Ford Weber (born July 26, 1931) is an American politician from Ohio. He served one term in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican. Early life and education Weber was born in Toledo, Ohio. He earned a Bachelor of Arts ...
.


Later career

Ashley was a member of the
George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and burial site of George H. W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States (1989–1993), and his wife Barbara Bush. Located on a site on the west campus of T ...
board and served on many corporate boards, including
Fannie Mae The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), commonly known as Fannie Mae, is a United States government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) and, since 1968, a publicly traded company. Founded in 1938 during the Great Depression as part of the N ...
and
Freddie Mac The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), commonly known as Freddie Mac, is a publicly traded, government-sponsored enterprise (GSE), headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia.


Personal life

Ashley was twice married. He married Margaret Mary Sherman in 1956 but they separated shortly thereafter. He married Kathleen Lucey in 1967 at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Trenton, New Jersey. Kathleen, the daughter of Charley Lucey (editor of ''
The Times Newspapers'' in Trenton), was a graduate of
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
and
Georgetown Law School The Georgetown University Law Center (Georgetown Law) is the law school of Georgetown University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1870 and is the largest law school in the United States by enrollment and t ...
and the Washington editor for the United States
Savings and Loan Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an I ...
League. They had three children: * Lise Ashley, who married Steven Francis Xavier Murphy, a son of Major General Dennis J. Murphy. * William Meredith Ashley, who married Monica Ann Manginello in 2008. * Mark Michael Ashley Kathleen Ashley died of heart failure at
George Washington University Hospital The George Washington University Hospital is a for-profit hospital, located in Washington, D.C. in the United States. It is affiliated with the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. The current facility opened on ...
in 1997. Lud Ashley lived in
Leland, Michigan Leland is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had a population of 377. It was the county seat of Leelanau County, Mi ...
, until his death from
melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...
at his home on June 15, 2010. After his death, George H. W. Bush said in a statement that he and
Barbara Bush Barbara Pierce Bush (June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018) was First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as the wife of President George H. W. Bush, and the founder of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. She previously was ...
"mourn the loss of a very close friend" and said Ashley "might well have been my very best friend in life."


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashley, Thomas 1923 births 2010 deaths United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War II Yale University alumni Ohio State University Moritz College of Law alumni University of Toledo alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Kent School alumni Politicians from Toledo, Ohio People from Leland, Michigan 20th-century American politicians Maumee Valley Country Day School alumni Military personnel from Ohio