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Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower

Mamie Geneva Doud was born in Boone, Iowa on November 14, 1896.
Her father earned a lot of money in the meat packing business. He retired when Mamie was seven and moved his family to Denver, Colorado.

In October 1915, she met Second Lieutenant Dwight Eisenhower.

They were married on July 1, 1916. Mamie was only 19 and Ike was twenty-five.

A few weeks after they were married Dwight left for a temporary assignment. He said, "My country comes first and always will." Mamie was a little shocked.

Mamie Eisenhower
Library of Congress

Mamie and Dwight lived in 27 different locations in thirty-seven years as part of his role in the military.

Their first son Doud died of scarlet fever when he was only 3 years old. His nickname was "Icky."

Mrs. Eisenhower and the president were the first White House family to send Christmas cards to the public.

When WWII began, Dwight was sent to Europe for three years.

Mamie volunteered for the Red Cross during the war.

She had an inner ear problem that caused her to stumble at times. There were rumors that she was an alcoholic based on her stumbling. She wasn't an alcoholic.

She joined Dwight in his campaign for the presidency in 1952 and enjoyed meeting people and large crowds.

Dwight died on March 28, 1969 and Mamie passed away on November 1, 1979. She was 83 years old. She is buried beside Dwight in Abilene, Kansas.

 

 

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First Ladies Home

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Sources of Information:

Books:
Barden, Cindy,Meet the First Ladies, Lorenz Corp.
Gormley, Beatrice,First Ladies: Women Who Called The White House Home (First Ladies) , Scholastic Paperbacks, 1997
Smith, Carter, Editor,Smithsonian Presidents and First Ladies DK Publishing, New York, 2002

Web Sites:
The White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/firstladies/
Portraits of the Presidents and First Ladies: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/odmdhtml/

 

This page was last updated: May 15, 2012