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

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

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 sover ...

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...

. The longest serving

in North Dakota's history, she served from 1961 to 1973 during the tenure of her husband, former

Governor 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 ...

William L. Guy William Lewis Guy (September 30, 1919 – April 26, 2013) was an American politician who was the List of Governors of North Dakota, governor of the U.S. state of North Dakota from 1961 to 1973. Guy was North Dakota's longest-serving governor in ...

, 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 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 ...

and the

North Dakota Democratic-Nonpartisan League Party North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

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 citizen ...

, 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, four ...

, during the 1980s.

Biography

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

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 ...

Bond) Mason. She earned her

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

home economics Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences, is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and food preparation, as well as texti ...

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 land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

) in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo ( /ˈfɑɹɡoʊ/) is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 125,990, making it the most populous city in the state and the 219th-most populous city in ...

, 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, 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 ...

. The couple moved to

Amenia, North Dakota Amenia ( ) is a city in Cass County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 85 at the 2020 census. Amenia was founded in 1880. The town is the site of several transmitter towers of Fargo broadcast television and radio stations. Ameni ...

, 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 Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

by a

precinct committeeman A precinct captain, also known as a precinct chairman, precinct delegate, precinct committee officer or precinct committeeman, is an elected official in the American political party system. The office establishes a direct link between a political ...

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 d ...

from 1959 to 1961 before being elected as North Dakota's longest-serving governor from 1961 to 1973. His election as Governor on the

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 Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninc ...

and Jane Sinner, as the party's three electors for the

2012 United States Presidential election The 2012 United States presidential election was the 57th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. Incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Joe Biden, were re-el ...

. 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