Changes

{{Infobox officeholder

{{Infobox officeholder

| name=Mary Smith Gleason

| name=Mary Smith Gleason

| nationality=[[United States|American]]

| nationality=[[United States|American]]

| office= [[Louisiana State Legislature|Louisiana State Representative from Webster Parish]]

| office=[[Louisiana]] State Representative for Webster Parish

| party=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]

| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]

| term_start=1959

| term_start=1959

| term_end=1960

| term_end=May 1960

| preceded=[[E.D. Gleason]]

| preceded=[[E.D. Gleason]]

| succeeded=[[Parey P. Branton]]

| succeeded=Parey Pershing Branton, Sr.

| birth_date={{birth date |1899|6|21}}

| birth_date=June 21, 1899

| death_date={{death date and age|1967|6|3|1899|6|21}}

| death_date=June 3, 1967 (aged 67)

| birth_place=

| birth_place=

| death_place=[[Plaquemine, Louisiana|Plaquemine]], [[Iberville Parish, Louisiana|Iberville Parish]], Louisiana

| death_place=Plaquemine, Iberville Parish

| resting_place=[[Minden Cemetery]]

| resting_place=Minden Cemetery

| residence=[[Shongaloo, Louisiana|Shongaloo]], Webster Parish

| residence=Shongaloo, Webster Parish

| spouse= [[E.D. Gleason|Ernest Dewey Gleason]]

| spouse==Ernest Dewey Gleason

| children=Thomas E. Gleason<br>

| children=Thomas E. Gleason<br>

William E. Gleason<br>

William E. "Cotton" Gleason, Sr.<br>

Charles E. Gleason

Charles E. Gleason

| religion=[[Baptist]]

| religion=[[Baptist]]

'''Mary Smith Gleason''' (June 21, 1899 &mdash; June 3, 1967) was an interim [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] state representative for Webster Parish in northwestern [[Louisiana]]. She served from 1959 to 1960, after the death in office of her husband, [[E. D. Gleason]].  She was named to complete the remaining eight months of her husband's second term by then [[Governor] [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]] because insufficient time existed to call a [[special election]] for the position.

'''Mary Smith Gleason''' (June 21, 1899 &mdash; June 3, 1967) was an interim [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] state representative for Webster Parish in northwestern [[Louisiana]]. She served from 1959 to 1960, after the death in office of her husband, [[E. D. Gleason]].  She was named to complete the remaining eight months of her husband's second term by then [[Governor] [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]] because insufficient time existed to call a [[special election]] for the position.

The Gleasons resided in the Evergreen Community south of [[rural]] Shongaloo in central Webster Parish. They had three sons, Thomas D. Gleason (1924–1944, killed during [[World War II]]), educator William Ernest "Cotton" Gleason (1919-1980) of [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]] and later Plaquemine in Iberville Parish, and Charles E. Gleason, later of [[Shreveport]].

The Gleasons resided in the Evergreen Community south of [[rural]] Shongaloo in central Webster Parish. They had three sons, Thomas D. Gleason (1924–1944, killed during [[World War II]]), educator William Ernest "Cotton" Gleason, Sr. (1919-1980), of [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]] and later Plaquemine in Iberville Parish, and Charles E. Gleason, later of [[Shreveport]].

Mrs. Gleason did not seek a full term in the 1959-1960 [[primary election|primaries]]. Instead, her son, William, ran for the seat.<ref>"W.E. Gleason to Seek State Rep. Post", ''Minden Herald'', August 3, 1959, p. 1</ref> However, William Gleason finished in fourth place. In a runoff election, Parey Pershing Branton, Sr. (1918-2011), a businessman from Shongaloo, defeated the Minden attorney Henry Grady Hobbs (1923-2012), a native of Sarepta,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=henry-hobbs&pid=162069317#fbLoggedOut|title=Henry Hobbs obituary|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date=January 2, 2013|accessdate=January 3, 2013}}</ref> by sixteen votes. Branton held the seat until 1972; he ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in the 1971 Democratic primary.

Mrs. Gleason did not seek a full term in the 1959-1960 [[primary election|primaries]]. Instead, her son, William, ran for the seat.<ref>"W.E. Gleason to Seek State Rep. Post", ''Minden Herald'', August 3, 1959, p. 1</ref> However, William Gleason finished in fourth place. In a runoff election, Parey Pershing Branton, Sr. (1918-2011), a businessman from Shongaloo, defeated the Minden attorney Henry Grady Hobbs (1923-2012), a native of Sarepta,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=henry-hobbs&pid=162069317#fbLoggedOut|title=Henry Hobbs obituary|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date=January 2, 2013|accessdate=January 3, 2013}}</ref> by sixteen votes. Branton held the seat until 1972; he ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in the 1971 Democratic primary.