Beverly Bruce
| Beverly Josephine Gourdon Bruce | |
 | |
Louisiana State Representative for District 7 (Caddo and DeSoto parishes)
| |
| In office 1996–2008 | |
| Preceded by | Johnny McFerren |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Richard Burford |
| Born | May 16, 1935 Coushatta, Red River Parish, Louisiana |
| Died | March 16, 2023 (aged 87) Shreveport, Louisiana |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Andrew Morris Bruce |
| Children | Andy Bruce |
| Alma mater | Northwestern State University |
| Occupation | Former educator Retired home economist |
Beverly Josephine Gourdon Bruce (May 16, 1935 – March 16, 2023)[1] was a Democrat who represented District 7 in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1996 to 2008. The district encompasses south Caddo and DeSoto parishes in northwestern Louisiana.[2]
Prior to her legislative tenure, Bruce was a teacher of home economics in the public school system for nine years and a home economist with Louisiana State University Agricultural Center-Research and Extension Service for twenty-three years. In 1956, Bruce graduated with a bachelor's degree in home economics education from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches. In 1964, she received a master's degree in Child Development and Family Relations from NSU. She also did post-graduate work at LSU.[3]
Bruce is listed in Who’s Who of American Women and in 1997 was named "Outstanding Legislator of the "by the Louisiana Association of Educators. As a legislator, she championed character education in the Louisiana public school system and appropriated funds to finance the "Character Counts" program, which promotes ethics in elementary and secondary schools and serves inmates at as well as inmates of the Louisiana Department of Corrections.[3]
In 1995, Bruce unseated the short-term Republican Tommy Armstrong of Shreveport, who had represented District 4. Running in District 7 to succeed the retiring Johnny McFerren, Bruce polled 7,027 votes (53 percent) to Armstrong's 6,235 (47 percent).[4] Bruce was unopposed in 1999 and 2003, but in 2007, she was term-limited and was succeeded by a Republican, Richard Burford,[5] who relinquished the seat in 2016 after a failed bid for the state Senate against Democrat John Milkovich.
A former resident of Mansfield, Louisiana, Bruce and her husband, Andrew Morris Bruce, retired in Shreveport. She died there at the age of eighty-seven.
References
- ↑ Beverly Gourdon Bruce obituary. The Shreveport Times accessdate=March 26, 2023.
- ↑ Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2020: Caddo and DeSoto parishes. Louisiana House of Representatives. Retrieved on February 25, 2018.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Hall of Distinguished Educators: Beverly Gourdon Bruce. Traditions.nsula.edu. Retrieved on February 25, 2018.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, November 18, 1995.
- ↑ Election Returns. Louisiana Secretary of State (November 17, 2007). Retrieved on February 25, 2018.
