Lenore Romney
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lenore LaFount Romney (1909 – 1998) was a former First Lady of Michigan and a Michigan politician in her own right.
Romney was born in Logan, Utah to Alma Luella Robison and Harold Arundel LaFount.[1] She was the wife of former Michigan Governor George W. Romney, having married him in 1931, and the mother of Mitt Romney, who was elected Governor of Massachusetts after her death. She had three other children: Lynn, Jane, and G. Scott Romney.
An aspiring actress, she married George Romney while he was a speechwriter in Washington, D.C. She later relocated to Los Angeles for her career, taking her husband with her. Later, her husband's career required the couple's relocation to Michigan, where he worked as an automobile executive.
When her husband was elected Governor of Michigan, she became the state's first lady. She moved back to Washington in 1969, when her husband became the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the administration of President Richard Nixon. Mrs. Romney later ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate from Michigan.
Later in life, "Lee" Romney, as she preferred to be called, resided at and operated Somerset Farms in California's Santa Ynez Valley, where she bred thoroughbred horses. Although she distanced herself from her husband, her family, and the political life she had led, Lee Romney remained active in local charities and philanthrophy until her death, from cancer.
The Lee Romney Foundation continues to support work in wilderness, watershed protection, wildlife conservation, coastal issues, and student education.
