Former first lady, Claudia Alta Taylor Johnson better known as "Lady Bird", died today, family. She was 94.While seen by many as a "conventional" first lady, she was anything but conventional for her time. With a family inheritance of $41,000 over a five year period between 1937 and 1942, Lady Bird laid the foundation of the family broadcasting fortune over which she served as president and later board chair. She would eventually become the first multimillionaire to assume the role of First Lady
While her husband Lyndon was widely reviled during his presidency because of the Vietnam War, Lady Bird Johnson was seen as an advocate for the protection of the environment. She established a capital beautification project, worked to promote the Highway Beautification Act, and created the National Wildflower Research Center. In 1999, she was awarded the Native Plant Conservation Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of these accomplishments.
As a person who spent a number of years in Texas, her legacy is seen every spring when the blue bells bloom along Texas roads.
"Ugliness is so grim," Lady Bird Johnson once said. "A little beauty, something that is lovely, I think, can help create harmony which will lessen tensions."
She will be missed.
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