Lady Bird Johnson has died at the age of 94.
Her White House biography is here.
She died at about 5:15 pm (EDST).
I always appreciated her wildflower projects so much. Every time I've ever seen the Texas bluebonnets by the side of the road, I have thought of her. I suspect I always will.
This is very sad news.
RIP Mrs. Johnson.
Here is Mrs. Johnson amidst the wildflowers, in a photo from the LBJ Library that is identified as being in the public domain:
The AP story is here: Lady Bird Johnson, Former First Lady, Dies at 94.
The obituary from The New York Times is up. Enid Nemy wrote it, so it is bound to be good.
Here is the much more detailed biography from the LBJ Library.
First and foremost, she was an environmentalist:
First and foremost, Mrs. Johnson is an environmentalist, and she has been an active worker on innumerable projects. In Washington, she enlisted the aid of friends to plant thousands of tulips and daffodils which still delight visitors to our nation's Capital. The Highway Beautification Act of 1965 was the result of Mrs. Johnson's national campaign for beautification. In 1999, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt presented Mrs. Johnson with the Native Plant Conservation Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award. At that time he said, "Mrs. Johnson has been a 'shadow’ Secretary of the Interior' for much of her life."
Mrs. Johnson was honorary chairman of the LBJ Memorial Grove on the Potomac in Washington, D. C. She also chaired the Town Lake Beautification Project, a community effort to create a hike and bike trail and to plant flowering trees along the Colorado River in Austin, Texas. She became a member of the National Park Service's Advisory Board on National Parks, Historic Sites, Buildings and Monuments in 1969 and served on the council for many years. In 1969 Mrs. Johnson founded the Texas Highway Beautification Awards, and for the next twenty years, she hosted the annual awards ceremonies and presented her personal checks to the winners. She is a trustee of the American Conservation Association.
On her 70th birthday in 1982, Mrs. Johnson founded the National Wildflower Research Center, a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the preservation and re-establishment of native plants in natural and planned landscapes. She donated 60 acres of land and a sum of money to establish the Center which serves as a clearing house of information for people all over the country. She realized her long-held dream in 1995 when the Center moved into its new and larger facility. In December, 1997, the Center was renamed the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in honor of Mrs. Johnson's 85th birthday. Mrs. Johnson is chairman of the Wildflower Center's board of directors.
In honor of her 80th birthday and many contributions to the betterment of our environment, the Lady Bird Johnson Conservation Award was established in 1992 by the LBJ Foundation Board of Directors.
~ An excerpt from her profile on the website of the LBJ Library
From the comments:
This photo, taken by Deep Harm in the 1970s near Dallas:
Accompanied by this tribute:
In some places the bluebonnets were so lush, I sank in them to my knees. Where they grow that thickly, bluebonnets have a strong perfume that is almost overwhelming.
Any time I saw a swath of beautiful flowers, I thought of the former First Lady and her wildflower project. Where poets write out their ideas in ink on paper, Mrs. Johnson wrote out hers in graceful arcs of flowers on sun-splashed hillsides; a poetry that speaks to all.
Thank you, Deep Harm.
As Dallasdoc points out in the comments, Mrs. Johnson was also a driving force behind the Head Start program. Another excellent reason to honor her memory.
rocketito posted this lovely comment in another diary.
The comments below are full of personal remembrances, many of which are touching. Thank you to so many fine commenters.
Dallasdoc has posted a link to the donation page for the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center with the nice idea that those so inclined send a donation in Mrs. Johnson's honor. Thank you, Dallasdoc.
The Maven has posted a link to the LBJ Library's Tribute Site, which is now up. Thank you, The Maven.
NYFM has posted a link to a beautiful photo tribute in the Austin American~Statesman. Thank you, NYFM.
From the New York Times obituary, this lovely quote:
"It has been a wonderful life," she told Ms. Carpenter in 1992. "I feel like a jug into which wine is poured until it overflows."
Thank you so much, Claudia Alta Taylor Johnson, for a life well lived, and for leaving such a beautiful legacy for all Americans.