Lois Rhame West

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Lois Rhame West
First Lady of South Carolina
In role
January 19, 1971 – January 21, 1975
GovernorJohn C. West
Preceded byJosephine Robinson McNair
Succeeded byAnn Darlington Edwards
Personal details
BornSeptember 5, 1921
Camden, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedMay 6, 2014(2014-05-06) (aged 92)
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, U.S.
SpouseJohn C. West (1942–2004; his death)
Alma materWinthrop University (1939)
OccupationHealth advocate

Lois Rhame West (September 5, 1921 – May 6, 2014) was an American health and

faculty member at the University of South Carolina, made physical education and wellness the focus of her tenure as the state's First Lady.[1] West later became the first woman serve as president of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, a position she held for two terms.[2] She served on the Muscular Dystrophy Association's national board of directors for forty years.[2]

Biography

West was born Lois Rhame on September 5, 1921, in

co-educational school during the 1970s).[1] She was active in collegiate athletics as a member of the women's field hockey, tennis and golf teams.[1] On August 29, 1942, while still a college student, Rhame married John C. West at a ceremony in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.[3] She became the first Winthrop student to marry while in school and still graduate.[1][2] Lois West received a bachelor's degree in physical education from Winthrop in 1943, becoming the first married woman to graduate from the college.[2][4]

Lois West joined the faculty of the University of South Carolina, where she taught while her husband completed his law degree.[1]

West campaigned statewide for her husband during his

inaugural address, Governor West promised to make South Carolina "colorblind" and erase "any vestige of discrimination" from his government.[1] His promises drew threats from the state's Ku Klux Klan.[1] Lois West recognized the danger posed by the Klan to her husband. In a 1998 interview for an oral history project at the University of South Carolina, West recalled her reaction, "If they did something, there were enough Klan members on the grand jury (that) nobody ever got indicted"..."The Grand Dragon lived down near me...so I sent him a message that if anything happened to John, he didn't have to worry about the grand jury, because I'd come kill him right then...I said, 'Now you just remember, whether you do it or anybody else does it, I’m going to get four of you before daylight.'...Boy, they were careful about us after that, because they knew I meant it – and I did." However, despite the threats, she also noted, "In the long run, there are more good people than bad people...This is a good state. It’s a nice place to live. Of all the places we’ve been, this is the best."[1]

West adopted physical fitness and health advocacy as the cornerstone of her tenure as First Lady from 1971 to 1975.[1][2] She focused much of her work on the importance of physical education.[1]

John West was appointed the

United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1977 to 1981. Lois West accompanied with him to Saudi Arabia
during his tenure.

The Wests became some of the first major donors to her

Doctorate of Humane Letters in 1984.[2]

Lois West served on the national board of directors for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) for forty years. Her tenure on the board included two terms as the first female president of the Muscular Dystropy Association.[1][2] She was also a leader in both the state Cub Scouts and the Girl Scouts.[1]

In 1998, Lois West and former Governor

sports management, and Sport and Human Performance.[2]

Her husband of 61 years, former Governor and Ambassador John C. West, died in 2004.[4]

Lois West died at her home in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, on May 6, 2014, at the age of 92.[1] Her funeral was held at Bethesda Presbyterian Church in Camden, South Carolina. She was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, also located in Camden.[1] She was survived by two of her three children, Shelton W. Bosley and John C. West Jr., and eleven grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband, Governor John West, and their son, Douglas Allen West, as well as her four brothers and one sister.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t O'Mara, Dan (2014-05-06). "Winthrop alum Lois Rhame West, former SC first lady and 'bright light,' dies". The Herald (Rock Hill). Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Devoted Alumna, former S.C. First Lady Lois Rhame West Passes Away". Winthrop University. 2014-05-08. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  3. ^ "Lois Rhame West Obituary". The State. 2014-05-07. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
  4. ^ a b "Former SC First Lady passes away at 92". South Carolina Radio Network. 2014-05-06. Retrieved 2014-07-13.
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