Lila May Banks Cockrell (January 19, 1922 – August 29, 2019) was an American politician who served twice as mayor of

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. 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 opposing ...

, she served in the

WAVES Waves most often refers to: *Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass. *Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water. Waves may also refer to: Music *Waves (band) ...

branch of the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

. She served as President of the

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

and San Antonio chapters of the League of Women Voters during the 1950s.

Political career

After serving for a decade on the city council, including her 1969 service as the city's first woman mayor

Pro Tem ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to "for the time being" in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a ''locum tenens'' (placeholder) in the absence of ...

, Cockrell was elected in 1975 to the first of four two-year terms as Mayor of San Antonio. At the time of her inauguration, San Antonio's population gave her the status of the mayor over the largest American city being governed by a woman. She is often listed as the first woman in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

to be elected mayor of a major metropolis. However, Bertha Knight Landes was mayor of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

1926–1928. Cockrell's first three terms ran consecutively 1975–1981. At the end of her third term, she chose not to run because of the illness of her husband Sidney Earl Cockrell Jr. She was succeeded by Henry Cisneros. Widowed in 1986, she was elected to her fourth term as mayor in 1989 when Cisneros left office. Lila Cockrell was a registered Republican.

Retirement

After retiring from political office, Cockrell served on many municipal commissions and civic boards. In 2013, she retired as president of the San Antonio Parks Foundation, a position she had held since 1998. On May 29, 2019 Cockrell was forbidden to vote in the 2019 San Antonio mayoral election because she lacked the required identification under

ID laws. Many people in the

community as well as politicians such as Pete Buttigieg were outraged that Cockrell was forbidden to cast her ballot. The incident started up a controversy about

voter ID laws. On May 31, 2019, Cockrell cast her vote in the election.

Death

Cockrell's Health declined in the time leading up to her death. Cockrell died at the age of 97 under

hospice care Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...

on August 29, 2019 in her apartment in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. On September 3, 2019, a public visitation was held at Mission Park Funeral Chapel North. On September 5, 2019, a private memorial service and a public tribute were held at the

Lila Cockrell Theatre Lila or LILA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lila'' (album), debut album by American country music singer Lila McCann * ''Lila'' (movie), a 1968 sexploitation film * The Meaning of Lila, a comic strip written by John Forgetta and L. A. ...

. Her final burial place is Mission Burial Park North in San Antonio.

Honors

*The Lila Cockrell Theatre, named in her honor, is part of the Henry B. González Convention Center in

Downtown San Antonio Downtown San Antonio is the central business district of San Antonio, Texas, United States. It also serves as the urban core of Greater San Antonio, a metropolitan area with nearly 2.5 million people. In addition to being encircled by Loops 1604 ...

. Also, a meeting room at the Convention Center directly below the Theatre is named the Mayor Cockrell Room in her honor. *She was inducted into the

Texas Women's Hall of Fame The Texas Women's Hall of Fame was established in 1984 by the Governor's Commission on Women. The honorees are selected biennially from submissions from the public. The honorees must be either native Texans, or a resident of Texas at the time of th ...

in 1984. *She received an honorary doctorate from St. Mary's University in May 2017 during the commencement ceremony for the class of 2017.

References

External links