Mary Smith Gleason
Mary Smith Gleason (June 21, 1899 â June 3, 1967) was an interim 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 Kemp Long because insufficient time existed to call a special election for the position.
| Mary Smith Gleason | |
Louisiana State Representative
for Webster Parish | |
| In office 1959 â May 1960 | |
| Preceded by | Ernest Dewey Gleason |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Parey Pershing Branton, Sr. |
| Born | June 21, 1899 Place of birth missing Resident of Shongaloo, Webster Parish, Louisiana |
| Died | June 3, 1967 (aged 67) Plaquemine, Iberville Parish |
| Resting place | Minden Cemetery |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Ernest Dewey Gleason |
| Children | Thomas E. Gleason William Ernest |
| Religion | Baptist |
The Gleasons resided in the Evergreen Community south of rural Shongaloo in central Webster Parish. They had three sons, Thomas D. Gleason (1924â1944, killed during World War II), educator William Ernest "Cotton" Gleason, Sr. (1919-1980), of 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. Instead, her son, William, ran for the seat.[1] However, William Gleason finished in fourth place. In a runoff election, Parey Branton, a businessman from rural Shongaloo, defeated by sixteen votes the Minden attorney Henry Grady Hobbs (1923-2012), a native of Sarepta in central Webster Parish,[2] Branton held the seat until 1972; he ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in the 1971 Democratic primary.
Mrs. Gleason died in Plaquemine shortly before what would have been her 68th birthday. Services were held at the Evergreen Baptist Church, and interment followed at the Minden Cemetery. In addition to her sons, William and Charles, she was survived by two sisters and two brothers.[3]
References
- â "W.E. Gleason to Seek State Rep. Post," Minden Herald, August 3, 1959, p. 1.
- â Henry Hobbs obituary. The Shreveport Times (January 2, 2013). Retrieved on January 3, 2013.
- â "Rites Yesterday for Mrs. Gleason," Minden Press-Herald, June 5, 1967, p. 7.