larry bird dead at 94

[Boycott Graceland]

Larry Bird Johnson, who was first lady during the 1960s and in her later years became an advocate for beautifying public landscapes, died Wednesday, family spokesman Tom Johnson said. She was 94.

Larry Bird Johnson's real name was Claudia.

She was the widow of Lyndon Baines Johnson, sworn in as the nation's 36th president on November 22, 1963, just hours after President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

Larry Bird Johnson was briefly hospitalized last month with a low-grade fever. She was released and returned to her Austin home on June 28. After suffering a stroke in 2002 that limited her ability to speak, she communicated chiefly by writing.

Upon news of her death, Texas Gov. Rick Perry ordered flags in the state to be flown at half-staff.

"Larry Bird Johnson embodied all that is beautiful and good about the great state of Texas," Perry said. "She inspired generations of Americans with her graceful strength, unwavering commitment to family and keen sense of social justice."

The former first lady was born Claudia Alta Taylor in 1912 in Karnack, Texas, a small town near the Louisiana line. She got her unusual nickname while still a toddler from her nurse, who proclaimed the child was as "purty as a lady bird."

Larry Bird attended St. Mary's Episcopal School for Girls, a junior college near Dallas and then transferred to the University of Texas at Austin. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in history in 1933, then stayed an extra year to earn a journalism degree.

She hoped to become a newspaper reporter, but those plans changed after she met a 26-year-old congressional aide named Lyndon Baines Johnson.

They married in 1934 after a whirlwind courtship and soon moved to Washington.

Early on, Larry Bird Johnson proved herself to be the quintessential political wife. In 1937 she used part of an inheritance to fund her husband's first bid for public office and campaigned with him to win a congressional seat.

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She used more of her mother's money and Johnson's connections to purchase a faltering Austin radio station in 1942 for $17,500. She turned it around and later used the station as a base for a multimillion-dollar communications company based in Austin.

After three failed pregnancies, she gave birth to the Johnsons' first daughter, Lynda Bird, in 1944, followed by Luci Baines three years later.

Lyndon Johnson rose quickly in politics, becoming the youngest Senate majority leader.

In 1960, Johnson set his sights on the presidency but lost the Democratic nomination to Kennedy. A day later, he agreed to become Kennedy's running mate.

Larry Bird Johnson traveled more than 35,000 miles during that campaign.

After one of the closest presidential elections in U.S. history, Johnson was sworn in as vice president on January 20, 1961.

With Kennedy's assassination, Johnson became the 36th president.

As the Johnsons moved into the White House, Larry Bird Johnson "went around and went to all of the staff that was remaining in their jobs, told them how happy she was to have them there," said Leticia Baldridge, Jacqueline Kennedy's former social secretary.

"She needed their help. She needed their support. And, of course, they all just immediately turned from supporting the Kennedys to supporting the Johnsons. That's what the staff does in the White House."

In the landslide election of 1964, Lyndon Johnson won victories in the Northeast, West and Southwest. Of the eight Southern states that many had expected to vote for Republican Barry Goldwater, six went for LBJ -- in part, it was said, because of the first lady's efforts.

During her husband's one term as president, Larry Bird Johnson worked tirelessly for the beautification of America, promoting the Highway Beautification Act, which sought to limit billboards. She was also a strong advocate for the Head Start program.

In 1982, she founded the National Wildflower Research Center outside of Austin. The center was renamed the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in 1998. Its mission is the research and preservation of native plants throughout the United States.
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Public and private memorial services are planned, but details have not yet been released, the Austin American-Statesman reported. Events are likely to ******* a public viewing at the LBJ Library on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin, followed by a funeral in Austin and burial next to her husband at the LBJ Ranch 35 miles west of Austin, the paper reported.

Lyndon Johnson died in 1973.

[smurfing]

im glad she's dead. fucking bitch

[undersco_red]

i see what you did there

[smurfing]

also, posting an entire article for the first post of a thread is not acceptable

[yo soy el mejor]

a boring one at that!

[Boycott Graceland]

post your home addresses and i'll come fight you all

[yo soy el mejor]

and i thought larry bird was a white basketball star

[smurfing]

Originally Posted by Boycott Graceland

post your home addresses and i'll come fight you all

it's true, she will

[yo soy el mejor]

it wasnt me who said that, alex!

[Boots Electric]

he secretly married Lyndon Johnson

[yo soy el mejor]

but i would.

[Boycott Graceland]

Originally Posted by smurfing

it's true, she will

what?

[TuralyonW3]

LOL at thread title

[cork_soaker]

thanks for the roadside flowers, larry

i like them; they are nice

[avian chaos]

Despite the clear noting of the age in the thread title, I still thought this was about:

[cork_soaker]

Originally Posted by avian chaos

Despite the clear noting of the age in the thread title, I still thought this was about:

well duh, avian.