Charles deGravelles
Encyclopedia
Charles Camille deGravelles, Jr., known as Charlie deGravelles (June 24, 1913–August 28, 2008), was a Lafayette
oil
and gas
landman
who was a pioneer in the development of the Republican Party
in the formerly historically Democratic
state of Louisiana
. Known as the “Mr. Republican of Acadiana
”, deGravelles and his wife, the former Mary Virginia Wheadon
(born December 4, 1915), held leadership positions in the GOP
from 1968–1972 and 1964–1968, respectively. DeGravelles was the party chairman, and Mrs. deGravelles was national committeewoman. When deGravelles assumed the chairmanship, the Louisiana GOP had only 28,427 registered members, barely 2 percent of the state's voters. For a brief time in 1968, both de Gravelleses were members of the Republican National Committee
, a husband-wife combination that has not since repeated itself.
parishes, to Charles C. deGravelles, Sr. (1883–1948), and the former Mary Eleanor Nations, originally from Beeville
, Texas
. He was reared in Thibodaux
, the parish seat of Lafourche Parish. His physician
-father practiced in Morgan City from 1910–1933 and thereafter in New Iberia
, where he was the last doctor to make house calls. Mary deGravelles died, and Charles, Sr., married the former Mary Riddle, originally from Bentonville
, Arkansas
. DeGravelles had a brother, Norbert Roth deGravelles and a half-sister by the father's second marriage, Martha Tabb deGravelles Marcantel The obituary
of deGravelles, Jr., indicates that an uncle
, E. N. Roth, Jr., was instrumental in young Charles's rearing, presumably after the death of Mary Nations deGravelles.
DeGravelles graduated from Thibodaux High School
in 1930. He then enrolled at Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge, where he met Virginia, the daughter of a hotel
owner from Alexandria
, the seat of Rapides Parish and the largest city in Central Louisiana
. On September 14, 1935, the couple eloped and were married by a justice of the peace
in Woodville
in Wilkinson County
, Mississippi
. They had five children: twin sons (born 1949), Charles Nations deGravelles, an Episcopal
archdeacon, and John W. deGravelles, an attorney
, both from Baton Rouge, and three daughters, Mary Alix deGravelles (deceased), Elizabeth Claire Cloniger and husband, Spike, of Fairhope
in Baldwin County
near Mobile
, Alabama
, and Virginia Ann McBride Norton of Bali, Indonesia. Claire is a writer of books and Christian
music
. Ann owns a photographic company, Photo Voice. Son-in-law Ed Norton works for the Nature Conservancy in environmental projects. DeGravelles' eldest child Alix was a therapist and social worker. She died of lung cancer in 1999. At the time of his death, Charles and Virginia had thirteen grandchildren, sixteen great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.
degree from LSU. He was also in the LSU Tigers
band. He did not practice law but was instead employed in 1937 as a landman (one who scouts potential leases) for the former Stanolind Oil and Gas Company, since Amoco
, based in Lake Charles
, the seat of Calcasieu Parish in southwestern Louisiana.
DeGravelles knew some French
and had a French last name but was Episcopalian, not Roman Catholic. The company believed that he could connect well with the local people at Anse la Butte, where he procured the leases. In 1941, de Gravelles moved permanently to Lafayette. He remained with the same company until his official retirement in 1999 at the age of eighty-six. During his time in Lafayette, deGravelles watched the city grow rapidly because of the expansion of the oil industry.
s, who were frozen out of the pivotal Democratic primaries. However, the Republican David W. Pipes, Jr., a favorite of sugar
growers, switched parties to seek the Acadian
a-based Third Congressional District seat in 1940 and polled a third of the vote
The deGravelleses hence were included among the oldest living Republicans in the state of Louisiana. They worked steadily to promote Republican principles and goals, even as Louisiana seemed permanently tied to the Democratic Party. He supported the 1960 Republican gubernatorial nominee, Francis Grevemberg
(1914–2008), a former Democrat. Old-timers remember the gatherings at their home, when the Republican membership was so small that it fit comfortably in the deGravelles' living room. As Louisiana began to vote Republican, particularly in presidential elections, deGravelles could claim some of the credit for the changes. In time, Lafayette itself became one of the most Republican of Louisiana’s sixty-four parishes. Even in defeat in 2003, current Governor
Bobby Jindal
, still carried Lafayette Parish, the residence of his successful opponent, former Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco.
, then known as Southwestern Louisiana Institute and the University of Southwestern Louisiana.
In 1968, deGravelles succeeded Charlton Havard Lyons, Sr.
, of Shreveport
in Caddo Parish, as the Louisiana party chairman. On March 3, 1964, Lyons had been the pioneer Republican gubernatorial candidate in the general election
. After the Goldwater national defeat, though he wad won Louisiana’s then ten electoral votes, deGravelles and Lyons committed themselves in 1968 to the nomination
of former Richard M. Nixon
. A minority within the Louisiana delegation to the 1968 Republican convention held in Miami Beach
, however, favored then Governor
Ronald W. Reagan of California
for the party’s nomination. DeGravelles summed up the majority opinion of the Louisiana party when he said, "much as I admire Governor Reagan, I feel that Nixon has a broad appeal and is the best qualified man in either party."
In May 1968, deGravelles discounted the victory by Governor
Nelson A. Rockefeller of New York in the presidential primary in Massachusetts
over the favorite-son choice, Governor
John Volpe. DeGravelles predicted that if a second candidate emerged at the Republican convention it would be Reagan, not Rockefeller. Two weeks later, however, a Harris Poll showed Rockefeller the strongest candidate for president in either party, with Vice President
Hubert H. Humphrey in second place. Rockefeller had entered the race for the nomination too late to amass the critical delegates needed. Humphrey's late start was mitigated by his inheriting the supporters of President Lyndon B. Johnson
, who withdrew from consideration on March 31, 1968.
Chairman DeGravelles correctly predicted that Nixon would be vigorously challenged in Louisiana, not by Humphrey but by the third-party forces pledged to then former Alabama Governor George C. Wallace, Jr., a favorite of many blue collar
white workers. Most of the Louisiana GOP delegates favored Reagan as a vice-presidential choice in 1968, a selection that ultimately went to Governor Spiro T. Agnew of Maryland
, who was subsequently forced to resign in 1973 for tax evasion
and bribery
.
Louisiana was among the five states which supported Wallace in 1968. Nixon-Agnew electors drew 257,535 votes (23.5 percent) in Louisiana, to Wallace's 530,300 (48.3 percent) and Humphrey's 309,615 (28.2 percent). Nixon ran 26,55 votes ahead of his 1960 showing in raw popular votes in Louisiana, but his 1968 showing was 5.1 percentage points below the previous standing.
The deGravelleses each attended one national GOP convention: he in 1972 in Miami Beach, and she in 1964 in San Francisco
. DeGravelles was succeeded as chairman by businessman James H. Boyce of Baton Rouge. Under Boyce's tutelage from 1972–1976, the Louisiana GOP participated in the 49-state sweep for Nixon, having lost the presidential vote in 1972 only in West Feliciana Parish. Moreover, under Boyce the still fledgling party did capture its first two seats in the United States House of Representatives
since Reconstruction, with the election in 1972 of David C. Treen
in the New Orleans suburb
s and William Henson Moore, III
, in a 1975 special election, which was a rerun of the regular November 1974 general election in the Baton Rouge district.
, but they grew particularly close to Ford’s intraparty rival, Ronald Reagan. It was deGravelles who had invited Reagan to campaign for Lyons in Louisiana. Reagan spoke on Lyons’ behalf in Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Baton Rouge. While Lyons polled only 37.5 percent of the general election ballots against the Democrat John J. McKeithen, Republicans considered his candidacy a strong declaration that the state GOP was determined to become politically viable.
During the 1980s, deGravelles contributed to the national and state parties as well as the U.S. Senate nominee, outgoing U.S. Representative Henson Moore, a narrow loser to the Democrat John B. Breaux, originally from Crowley
in Acadia Parish in south Louisiana. In 2005, deGravelles received the annual Reagan Republican Gold Medal.
In 1993, deGravelles worked unsuccessfully to recall
from office then Democratic Mayor
Kenneth F. "Kenny" Bowen
of Lafayette on grounds that Bowen was too much of a "micromanager" and too “unstable” to run the city efficiently and fairly. Though sufficient signatures were obtained to have the recall election, the judge disqualified many of the names, and Bowen completed his third and final term in office. Bowen had been a Republican in the 1960s and had worked with the deGravelleses. He cast his 1964 GOP convention vote, along with Virginia deGravelles, for Goldwater.
Medal of Honor given by Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
, and the “Lifetime Achievement” honor from the Louisiana Republican Party. On January 27, 2007, they were inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
in Winnfield
– the first couple honored together by the organization, which began recognizing Louisiana politicians in 1993. Former Congresswoman Corrine Claiborne "Lindy" Boggs
of New Orleans was inducted in 1994, a year after posthumous honors were given to her husband, Thomas Hale Boggs, Sr.
The deGravelleses' rival, Kenny Bowen, who had been a budding Lafayette Republican in the 1960s before he switched to the Democratic camp, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002, shortly before his death.
DeGravelles, who had been using a wheelchair
, died at his residence at 409 Azalea Street in Lafayette. News of his death was carried in the state’s newspaper
s and over television
. A memorial service was held on September 6, 2008, at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Lafayette. Son Charles deGravelles of Trinity Episcopal Church in Baton Rouge was one of the three officiating ministers. DeGravelles was also a strong supporter of the Salvation Army
. Mrs. deGravelles survives her husband of seventy-three years.
Lafayette, Louisiana
Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...
oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
and gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
landman
Landman (oil worker)
In the United States and Canada, a Landman or "Petroleum Landman" is an individual who performs various services for oil and gas exploration companies...
who was a pioneer in the development of the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
in the formerly historically Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
state of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. Known as the “Mr. Republican of Acadiana
Acadiana
Acadiana, or The Heart of Acadiana, is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that is home to a large Francophone population. Of the 64 parishes that make up Louisiana, 22 named parishes and other parishes of similar cultural environment, make up the intrastate...
”, deGravelles and his wife, the former Mary Virginia Wheadon
Virginia deGravelles
Mary Virginia Wheadon deGravelles is a retiree from Lafayette who was the Louisiana Republican national committeewoman from 1964–1968, a position which constitutes automatic membership on the Republican National Committee. Her husband, Charles Camille deGravelles, Jr...
(born December 4, 1915), held leadership positions in the GOP
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
from 1968–1972 and 1964–1968, respectively. DeGravelles was the party chairman, and Mrs. deGravelles was national committeewoman. When deGravelles assumed the chairmanship, the Louisiana GOP had only 28,427 registered members, barely 2 percent of the state's voters. For a brief time in 1968, both de Gravelleses were members of the Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
, a husband-wife combination that has not since repeated itself.
Early years, family, and education
DeGravelles was born in Morgan City, located in both St. Martin and St. MarySt. Mary Parish, Louisiana
St. Mary Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Franklin. As of 2000, the population was 53,500.The Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of St. Mary Parish.-Geography:...
parishes, to Charles C. deGravelles, Sr. (1883–1948), and the former Mary Eleanor Nations, originally from Beeville
Beeville, Texas
Beeville is a city in Bee County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,129 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bee County...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He was reared in Thibodaux
Thibodaux, Louisiana
Thibodaux is a small city in and the parish seat of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 14,431 at the 2000 census. Thibodaux is a principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux...
, the parish seat of Lafourche Parish. His physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
-father practiced in Morgan City from 1910–1933 and thereafter in New Iberia
New Iberia, Louisiana
New Iberia is a city in and the parish seat of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States, 30 miles southeast of Lafayette. In 1900, 6,815 people lived in New Iberia; in 1910, 7,499; and in 1940, 13,747...
, where he was the last doctor to make house calls. Mary deGravelles died, and Charles, Sr., married the former Mary Riddle, originally from Bentonville
Bentonville, Arkansas
Bentonville, Arkansas is a city in Northwest Bahamas, and county seat of Benton County, Arkansas, United States The population was 35,301 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers, AR-MO Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. DeGravelles had a brother, Norbert Roth deGravelles and a half-sister by the father's second marriage, Martha Tabb deGravelles Marcantel The obituary
Obituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
of deGravelles, Jr., indicates that an uncle
Uncle
An uncle is a type of familial relationship.Uncle may also refer to:* Uncle , by J. P. Martin* U.N.C.L.E., a fictional organization in the TV series The Man from U.N.C.L.E....
, E. N. Roth, Jr., was instrumental in young Charles's rearing, presumably after the death of Mary Nations deGravelles.
DeGravelles graduated from Thibodaux High School
Thibodaux High School
Thibodaux High School is a public high school serving students in grades 9–12 in Thibodaux, Louisiana, USA about 75 miles southwest of New Orleans. It is one of three high schools in the Lafourche Parish Public Schools district...
in 1930. He then enrolled at Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge, where he met Virginia, the daughter of a hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
owner from Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
, the seat of Rapides Parish and the largest city in Central Louisiana
Central Louisiana
Central Louisiana , also known as the Crossroads region, is the part of Louisiana that includes the following parishes: Allen Parish, Beauregard Parish, Catahoula Parish, Concordia Parish, Grant Parish, La Salle Parish, Natchitoches Parish, Rapides Parish, Sabine Parish and Vernon Parish.The five...
. On September 14, 1935, the couple eloped and were married by a justice of the peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
in Woodville
Woodville, Mississippi
Woodville is a town in and the county seat of Wilkinson County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,192 at the 2000 census.The Woodville Republican, a weekly newspaper founded in 1823, is the oldest surviving business in Mississippi.-Geography:Woodville is located at .According to...
in Wilkinson County
Wilkinson County, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 10,312 people, 3,578 households, and 2,511 families residing in the county. The population density was 15 people per square mile . There were 5,106 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. They had five children: twin sons (born 1949), Charles Nations deGravelles, an Episcopal
Episcopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
archdeacon, and John W. deGravelles, an attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, both from Baton Rouge, and three daughters, Mary Alix deGravelles (deceased), Elizabeth Claire Cloniger and husband, Spike, of Fairhope
Fairhope, Alabama
Fairhope is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, on a sloping plateau, along the cliffs and shoreline of Mobile Bay. The 2010 census lists the population of the city as 16,176....
in Baldwin County
Baldwin County, Alabama
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*85.7% White*9.4% Black*0.7% Native American*0.7% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*1.5% Two or more races*4.4% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
near Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, and Virginia Ann McBride Norton of Bali, Indonesia. Claire is a writer of books and Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
. Ann owns a photographic company, Photo Voice. Son-in-law Ed Norton works for the Nature Conservancy in environmental projects. DeGravelles' eldest child Alix was a therapist and social worker. She died of lung cancer in 1999. At the time of his death, Charles and Virginia had thirteen grandchildren, sixteen great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild.
A man of the oil industry
Between 1930 and 1936, deGravelles received his bachelor’s degree and lawLaw
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
degree from LSU. He was also in the LSU Tigers
LSU Tigers
The LSU Tigers are the athletic teams of Louisiana State University. They participate in the NCAA's Division I, in the Southeastern Conference. It fields teams in 14 varsity sports . Its official team nickname is the Fighting Tigers and the school mascot is Mike the Tiger...
band. He did not practice law but was instead employed in 1937 as a landman (one who scouts potential leases) for the former Stanolind Oil and Gas Company, since Amoco
Amoco
Amoco Corporation, originally Standard Oil Company , was a global chemical and oil company, founded in 1889 around a refinery located in Whiting, Indiana, United States....
, based in Lake Charles
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
, the seat of Calcasieu Parish in southwestern Louisiana.
DeGravelles knew some French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and had a French last name but was Episcopalian, not Roman Catholic. The company believed that he could connect well with the local people at Anse la Butte, where he procured the leases. In 1941, de Gravelles moved permanently to Lafayette. He remained with the same company until his official retirement in 1999 at the age of eighty-six. During his time in Lafayette, deGravelles watched the city grow rapidly because of the expansion of the oil industry.
Lafayette's first registered white Republicans
Charles deGravelles, Sr., in addition to his role in various medical associations, had been a member of the Iberia Parish Democratic Executive Committee. Charles and Virginia deGravelles, however, became in 1941 the first two white persons in many years to register as Republican voters in Lafayette Parish. The only open Republicans then were a few African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s, who were frozen out of the pivotal Democratic primaries. However, the Republican David W. Pipes, Jr., a favorite of sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
growers, switched parties to seek the Acadian
Acadian
The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...
a-based Third Congressional District seat in 1940 and polled a third of the vote
The deGravelleses hence were included among the oldest living Republicans in the state of Louisiana. They worked steadily to promote Republican principles and goals, even as Louisiana seemed permanently tied to the Democratic Party. He supported the 1960 Republican gubernatorial nominee, Francis Grevemberg
Francis Grevemberg
Francis Carroll Grevemberg , was the superintendent of the Louisiana State Police from 1952 to 1955, best remembered for his fight against organized crime....
(1914–2008), a former Democrat. Old-timers remember the gatherings at their home, when the Republican membership was so small that it fit comfortably in the deGravelles' living room. As Louisiana began to vote Republican, particularly in presidential elections, deGravelles could claim some of the credit for the changes. In time, Lafayette itself became one of the most Republican of Louisiana’s sixty-four parishes. Even in defeat in 2003, current Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
, still carried Lafayette Parish, the residence of his successful opponent, former Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco.
Louisiana GOP mulls Nixon and Reagan
In the fall of 1966, deGravelles made his only race for public office: the Third District seat on the Louisiana State Board of Education. He polled 24,236 votes (35.3 percent) against the Democrat Harvey Peltier's 44,413 ballots (64.7 percent). The Democrat William J. "Bill" Dodd was then the education superintendent, and the state board was all-Democratic. DeGravelles’ interest in education had been whetted from 1955–1962, when he taught oil and gas law at the University of Louisiana at LafayetteUniversity of Louisiana at Lafayette
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or UL Lafayette, is a coeducational, public research university located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana...
, then known as Southwestern Louisiana Institute and the University of Southwestern Louisiana.
In 1968, deGravelles succeeded Charlton Havard Lyons, Sr.
Charlton Lyons
Charlton Havard Lyons, Sr., also known as Big Papa Lyons , was a Shreveport oilman who in 1964 waged the first determined Republican bid for the Louisiana governorship since Reconstruction. Lyons also made a strong but losing bid for the United States House of Representatives in a special election...
, of Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
in Caddo Parish, as the Louisiana party chairman. On March 3, 1964, Lyons had been the pioneer Republican gubernatorial candidate in the general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
. After the Goldwater national defeat, though he wad won Louisiana’s then ten electoral votes, deGravelles and Lyons committed themselves in 1968 to the nomination
Nomination
Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office, or the bestowing of an honor or award.In the context of elections for public office, a candidate who has been selected by a political party is normally said to be the nominee of that party...
of former Richard M. Nixon
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
. A minority within the Louisiana delegation to the 1968 Republican convention held in Miami Beach
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...
, however, favored then Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
Ronald W. Reagan of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
for the party’s nomination. DeGravelles summed up the majority opinion of the Louisiana party when he said, "much as I admire Governor Reagan, I feel that Nixon has a broad appeal and is the best qualified man in either party."
In May 1968, deGravelles discounted the victory by Governor
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
Nelson A. Rockefeller of New York in the presidential primary in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
over the favorite-son choice, Governor
Governor of Massachusetts
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...
John Volpe. DeGravelles predicted that if a second candidate emerged at the Republican convention it would be Reagan, not Rockefeller. Two weeks later, however, a Harris Poll showed Rockefeller the strongest candidate for president in either party, with Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Hubert H. Humphrey in second place. Rockefeller had entered the race for the nomination too late to amass the critical delegates needed. Humphrey's late start was mitigated by his inheriting the supporters of President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, who withdrew from consideration on March 31, 1968.
Chairman DeGravelles correctly predicted that Nixon would be vigorously challenged in Louisiana, not by Humphrey but by the third-party forces pledged to then former Alabama Governor George C. Wallace, Jr., a favorite of many blue collar
Blue collar
Blue collar can refer to:*Blue-collar worker, a traditional designation of the working class*Blue-collar crime, the types of crimes typically associated with the working class*A census designation...
white workers. Most of the Louisiana GOP delegates favored Reagan as a vice-presidential choice in 1968, a selection that ultimately went to Governor Spiro T. Agnew of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, who was subsequently forced to resign in 1973 for tax evasion
Tax evasion
Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
and bribery
Bribery
Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
.
Louisiana was among the five states which supported Wallace in 1968. Nixon-Agnew electors drew 257,535 votes (23.5 percent) in Louisiana, to Wallace's 530,300 (48.3 percent) and Humphrey's 309,615 (28.2 percent). Nixon ran 26,55 votes ahead of his 1960 showing in raw popular votes in Louisiana, but his 1968 showing was 5.1 percentage points below the previous standing.
The deGravelleses each attended one national GOP convention: he in 1972 in Miami Beach, and she in 1964 in San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. DeGravelles was succeeded as chairman by businessman James H. Boyce of Baton Rouge. Under Boyce's tutelage from 1972–1976, the Louisiana GOP participated in the 49-state sweep for Nixon, having lost the presidential vote in 1972 only in West Feliciana Parish. Moreover, under Boyce the still fledgling party did capture its first two seats in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
since Reconstruction, with the election in 1972 of David C. Treen
David C. Treen
David Conner "Dave" Treen, Sr. , was an American attorney and politician from Mandeville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana – the first Republican Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He was the first Republican in modern times to have served in the U.S...
in the New Orleans suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s and William Henson Moore, III
Henson Moore
William Henson Moore III , is a retired attorney and businessman who is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, having represented the Baton Rouge-based Sixth Congressional District, from 1975-1987. He is only the second Republican to have represented Louisiana in the House since...
, in a 1975 special election, which was a rerun of the regular November 1974 general election in the Baton Rouge district.
Later political activities
In the 1970s, deGravelles worked with President Gerald R. Ford, Jr.Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
, but they grew particularly close to Ford’s intraparty rival, Ronald Reagan. It was deGravelles who had invited Reagan to campaign for Lyons in Louisiana. Reagan spoke on Lyons’ behalf in Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Baton Rouge. While Lyons polled only 37.5 percent of the general election ballots against the Democrat John J. McKeithen, Republicans considered his candidacy a strong declaration that the state GOP was determined to become politically viable.
During the 1980s, deGravelles contributed to the national and state parties as well as the U.S. Senate nominee, outgoing U.S. Representative Henson Moore, a narrow loser to the Democrat John B. Breaux, originally from Crowley
Crowley, Louisiana
Crowley is a city in and the parish seat of Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 14,225 at the 2000 census. The city is noted for its annual International Rice Festival. Crowley has the nickname of "Rice Capital of America", because at one time it was a major center for...
in Acadia Parish in south Louisiana. In 2005, deGravelles received the annual Reagan Republican Gold Medal.
In 1993, deGravelles worked unsuccessfully to recall
Recall election
A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a direct vote before his or her term has ended...
from office then Democratic Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
Kenneth F. "Kenny" Bowen
Kenny Bowen
Kenneth Francis "Kenny" Bowen, Sr. was a three-term Democratic mayor of Lafayette, Louisiana, the fourth largest city in the state, according to the 2000 census...
of Lafayette on grounds that Bowen was too much of a "micromanager" and too “unstable” to run the city efficiently and fairly. Though sufficient signatures were obtained to have the recall election, the judge disqualified many of the names, and Bowen completed his third and final term in office. Bowen had been a Republican in the 1960s and had worked with the deGravelleses. He cast his 1964 GOP convention vote, along with Virginia deGravelles, for Goldwater.
Political Hall of Fame
Charles and Virginia deGravelles won several joint awards, primarily for their two-party and Republican activities. They have been honored with the George WashingtonGeorge Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
Medal of Honor given by Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
Valley Forge, Pennsylvania
The Village of Valley Forge is an unincorporated settlement located on the west side of Valley Forge National Historical Park at the confluence of Valley Creek and the Schuylkill River in Pennsylvania, United States. The remaining village is in Schuylkill Township of Chester County, but once...
, and the “Lifetime Achievement” honor from the Louisiana Republican Party. On January 27, 2007, they were inducted into the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield, Louisiana, highlights the careers of more than a hundred of the state’s leading politicians and political journalists. Because three governors, Huey P. Long, Jr., Oscar K...
in Winnfield
Winnfield, Louisiana
Winnfield is a city in and the parish seat of Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census. It has long been associated with the Long faction of the Louisiana Democratic Party and was home to three governors of Louisiana.-Geography:Winnfield is located at ...
– the first couple honored together by the organization, which began recognizing Louisiana politicians in 1993. Former Congresswoman Corrine Claiborne "Lindy" Boggs
Lindy Boggs
Marie Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs, usually known as Lindy Boggs , is a United States political figure who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and later as ambassador to the Vatican. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Louisiana...
of New Orleans was inducted in 1994, a year after posthumous honors were given to her husband, Thomas Hale Boggs, Sr.
Hale Boggs
Thomas Hale Boggs Sr. , was an American Democratic politician and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Orleans, Louisiana...
The deGravelleses' rival, Kenny Bowen, who had been a budding Lafayette Republican in the 1960s before he switched to the Democratic camp, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2002, shortly before his death.
DeGravelles, who had been using a wheelchair
Wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, designed to be a replacement for walking. The device comes in variations where it is propelled by motors or by the seated occupant turning the rear wheels by hand. Often there are handles behind the seat for someone else to do the pushing...
, died at his residence at 409 Azalea Street in Lafayette. News of his death was carried in the state’s newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s and over television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. A memorial service was held on September 6, 2008, at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Lafayette. Son Charles deGravelles of Trinity Episcopal Church in Baton Rouge was one of the three officiating ministers. DeGravelles was also a strong supporter of the Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
. Mrs. deGravelles survives her husband of seventy-three years.