Elly Peterson, Former Chairwoman Of Michigan Republican Party, 94

[PyrateJohn]

LANSING, Michigan (AP) -- Elly Peterson, a pioneering former
chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party who devoted herself to
passing the Equal Rights Amendment, has died. She was 94.


Peterson died Monday [June 9, 2008] in Grand Junction, Colorado,
where
she had moved several years ago, said longtime friend Joyce
Braithwaite-Brickley.


Peterson was the first woman to head a major political party in
Michigan, serving as state Republican chairwoman from 1965-69.


She also was the first Michigan woman to be nominated for the U.S.


Senate, the first to address a National Republican Convention, the
first to twice co-chair the Republican National Committee and the
first to serve as deputy campaign chairman for a presidential
candidate.


She was a national co-chairwoman of ERAmerica, a private national
campaign organization, during the fight to get the Equal Rights
Amendment ratified. Peterson also strongly supported abortion rights.


She was a charter member in the National Women's Political Caucus and
was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 1984.