Jeanne Bodfish Explained

Jeanne Bodfish
Office:31st Comptroller of the Treasury of Tennessee
Governor:Frank G. Clement
Term Start:January 1953
Term End:January 1955
Predecessor:Cedric Hunt
Successor:William R. Snodgrass
Birth Date:7 January 1920
Birth Place:Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Death Place:Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Party:Democratic
Spouse:Robert V. Bodfish
Children:2
Education:Vanderbilt University (BA, MA)
University of Chicago (JD)

Jeanne Stephenson Bodfish (January 7, 1920 — October 31, 2012) was an American politician who served as the 31st Comptroller of the Treasury of Tennessee from 1953 to 1955.

Bodfish was Tennessee's first and only female Comptroller of the Treasury.[1]

Biography

Bodfish was born in Nashville, Tennessee in 1920 to Margaret and Jay Stephenson. She studied political science at Vanderbilt University and law at the University of Chicago.[2]

Bodfish was a political science instructor at Vanderbilt University from 1950 to 1952.[3]

In 1953, Bodfish was elected by the Tennessee General Assembly to become the Comptroller of the Treasury of Tennessee. She only served one term of two years.

Bodfish died on October 31, 2012, survived by her two children.

Family and legacy

Bodfish married Robert Valentine Bodfish in 1945. They had two children: Jayne and John.[3]

The 108th General Assembly of Tennessee recognized Bodfish's "insightful decisions on governmental accountability" and how they impacted the government of Tennessee for the sixty years following her election in 1953.[2]

Notes and References

  1. News: Ebert . Joel . 2017-08-06 . These women running for governor could make Tennessee history . The Tennessean . 2022-09-05.
  2. 13 February 2013. 108th General Assembly of Tennessee. Senate Joint Resolution 98.
  3. Book: Friar, George . 1954 Tennessee Blue Book . Tennessee Secretary of State . 1954 . 26.