Jean Boese
Encyclopedia
Elsie Jean McGivney Boese, known as Jean Boese was the poet laureate
of Louisiana
from 1972–1980, and from 1984 until her death. She was also the Republican
national committeewoman from Louisiana, having served from 1968-1974. She was the first woman to serve on the Alexandria
Civil Service
Commission (1975–1979).
She was born in New Orleans to John Roderick McGivney and the former Elsie Buist. She graduated from the Louise S. McGehee School (a female academy) in New Orleans in 1942. In 1945, at the age of twenty, she graduated from the former H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College
, the women's division of Tulane University
. On May 20, 1946, she married Herman Lamar Boese (June 28, 1924–February 26, 2004). The couple moved to Alexandria, where Dr. Boese, a proctologist, established his medical practice.
by Democratic
Governor Edwin Washington Edwards, Republican Governors David C. Treen
and Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Jr.
, renewed her appointment during their terms of office and Edwards retained her services during his third term, 1984-1988. See two samples of her work at the end of the article. Mrs. Boese's poem "Leadership" is the official poem of the Louisiana State Senate
.
, Finance and Utilities Commissioner Arnold Jack Rosenthal
, and Streets and Parks Commissioner Malcolm P. Hebert) named her to a vacancy on the Alexandria Civil Service Commission. This body hears grievances from city employees who wish to challenge dismissals, demotions, or changes in job duties and descriptions. She served on the review board of the Alexandria Zoning Commission from 1979-1984.
On the state level, she was a member of the Commission on Indian Affairs, Commission on Salaries for State Judges, and the Election Code Commission.
She was a social worker for the American Red Cross
in New Orleans between 1945-1946. She taught exceptional children for a time in New Orleans. She did script writing for the Tulane University
educational television channel. After she relocated to Alexandria, she was a member of the St. Frances Cabrini Hospital Auxiliary and the Rapides Parish Medical Society. She was a former member of Our Lady of Prompt Succor Altar Society and served on the Human Rights Committee of St. Mary's Training School for Retarded Children in Alexandria.
In the 1976 campaign, Mrs. Boese remained neutral in the fight between President Gerald R. Ford and former California Governor Ronald W. Reagan. The Louisiana caucuses in May had gone heavily for Reagan. She was quite optimistic that Ford, who emerged the nominee (with Senator Bob Dole
of Kansas
as his running-mate) from the convention that met in Kansas City
, would yet defeat Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter
: "The more I read those polls {with Carter far in front}, the more optimistic I am. I am expecting a Democratic Dewey, and I can hardly wait," she said, in reference to former New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, who lost the presidency in 1944 and 1948, though he had been favored in nearly all polls in the latter contest.
Archives Building in 1987. The poem is especially poignant to natives of Louisiana
:
.
Dr. Boese shared his wife's political leanings. In 1966, he was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for the Rapides Parish School Board, along with future U.S. District Judge Nauman Scott
and future Republican national committeeman and Louisiana state GOP chairman John H. Cade, Jr.
At time there were six at-large seats on the body, but by the 1970s the board had converted to single-member districts.
At the time of her passing, Mrs. Boese was survived by her son, Robert Lamar Boese (born 1947), daughter-in-law, Dierdre Digiglia Boese (born 1957), and granddaughters, Erin and Kelly Boese, all of Broussard
in Lafayette Parish.
Mrs. Boese was succeeded as poet laureate
by Brenda Marie Osbey of New Orleans, who was appointed by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco in 2005.
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
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...
from 1972–1980, and from 1984 until her death. She was also the Republican
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...
national committeewoman from Louisiana, having served from 1968-1974. She was the first woman to serve on the 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....
Civil Service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
Commission (1975–1979).
She was born in New Orleans to John Roderick McGivney and the former Elsie Buist. She graduated from the Louise S. McGehee School (a female academy) in New Orleans in 1942. In 1945, at the age of twenty, she graduated from the former H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College
H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College
H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, or Newcomb College, was the coordinate women's college of Tulane University located in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was founded by Josephine Louise Newcomb in 1886 in memory of her daughter....
, the women's division of Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
. On May 20, 1946, she married Herman Lamar Boese (June 28, 1924–February 26, 2004). The couple moved to Alexandria, where Dr. Boese, a proctologist, established his medical practice.
Louisiana Poet Laureate
Mrs. Boese was first appointed as poet laureatePoet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
by 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...
Governor Edwin Washington Edwards, Republican Governors 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...
and Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Jr.
Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
Murphy James "Mike" Foster, Jr. served as 53rd Governor of Louisiana from January 1996 until January 2004. Foster's father was Murphy J. Foster, Jr., but Mike Foster uses "Jr." even though he is technically Murphy J. Foster, III. Foster is a businessman, landowner, and sportsman in St...
, renewed her appointment during their terms of office and Edwards retained her services during his third term, 1984-1988. See two samples of her work at the end of the article. Mrs. Boese's poem "Leadership" is the official poem of the Louisiana State Senate
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
.
Civic leader
In 1975, three Democratic city commissioners (Mayor John Kenneth SnyderJohn K. Snyder
John Kenneth Snyder, Sr., sometimes known as Tillie Snyder , was a colorful, outspoken Democratic mayor of Alexandria, Louisiana, from 1973–1977 and again from 1982-1986....
, Finance and Utilities Commissioner Arnold Jack Rosenthal
Arnold Jack Rosenthal
Arnold Jack Rosenthal was an attorney and businessman from Alexandria, Louisiana, who from 1973 to 1977 was his city's last elected municipal commissioner of finance and utilities.-Family and educational background:...
, and Streets and Parks Commissioner Malcolm P. Hebert) named her to a vacancy on the Alexandria Civil Service Commission. This body hears grievances from city employees who wish to challenge dismissals, demotions, or changes in job duties and descriptions. She served on the review board of the Alexandria Zoning Commission from 1979-1984.
On the state level, she was a member of the Commission on Indian Affairs, Commission on Salaries for State Judges, and the Election Code Commission.
She was a social worker for the American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
in New Orleans between 1945-1946. She taught exceptional children for a time in New Orleans. She did script writing for the Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
educational television channel. After she relocated to Alexandria, she was a member of the St. Frances Cabrini Hospital Auxiliary and the Rapides Parish Medical Society. She was a former member of Our Lady of Prompt Succor Altar Society and served on the Human Rights Committee of St. Mary's Training School for Retarded Children in Alexandria.
Republican Party politics
Boese was the first woman appointed as vice-chairman of the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee and served a full decade, from 1964-1974. She was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1964 and in 1968, which met in San Francisco and Miami Beach, respectively. Besides her six years as GOP national committeewoman, she was a member of the site selection committee of the Republican National Committee in 1971. The committee initially chose San Diego for the convention, but when problems resulted over the financing of the convention, the site was once again Miami Beach.In the 1976 campaign, Mrs. Boese remained neutral in the fight between President Gerald R. Ford and former California Governor Ronald W. Reagan. The Louisiana caucuses in May had gone heavily for Reagan. She was quite optimistic that Ford, who emerged the nominee (with Senator Bob Dole
Bob Dole
Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
as his running-mate) from the convention that met in Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, would yet defeat Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
: "The more I read those polls {with Carter far in front}, the more optimistic I am. I am expecting a Democratic Dewey, and I can hardly wait," she said, in reference to former New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, who lost the presidency in 1944 and 1948, though he had been favored in nearly all polls in the latter contest.
Her poem "Leadership"
Mrs. Boese's "Leadership" is the official state poem of the Louisiana State Senate:- It is easy to bend with the wind and be weak,
- Wrapped in silence when it would take courage to speak,
- To do nothing when crises demand that you act;
- To prefer a delusion to unpleasant fact.
- But the easy evasions that dreamers embrace
- Are denied to a leader with problems to face.
- He must cope with the world as he finds it, and plan
- To make each hard decision as well as he can.
- He can't hide from the truth or deny what is real.
- Though a lie might assuage all the fears people feel.
- For the truth is the truth, and no lie can prevail.
- In a world that is real, one must face truth or fail.
"Louisiana", the poem
Her best known poem, "Louisiana," was read at the dedication of the LouisianaLouisiana
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...
Archives Building in 1987. The poem is especially poignant to natives 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...
:
- I love Louisiana with its cotton fields and trees
- And the Spanish moss that flutters with the slightest bit of breeze.
- I love the fields of sugar cane, the grazing cattle herds,
- The sweet scented magnolias filled with brightly colored birds.
- I love the lazy bayous that meander through the state,
- Where bass and bream and speckled perch and crawfish lie in wait.
- I love the mighty rivers that flowed where we now tread,
- Atchafalaya, Mississippi and the clay filled Red.
- I love the forests filled with game, I'm proud that from our soil
- Come shrimp and oysters from the Gulf, and sulphur, salt and oil.
- I love the lush green levees stretching far as eyes can see.
- Louisiana has my love, because it's part of me.
Her obituary
Dr. Boese had preceded his wife in death by some seven weeks. He died on February 16, 2004. He had been Mrs. Boese's caregiver in her last years. They were CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
.
Dr. Boese shared his wife's political leanings. In 1966, he was an unsuccessful Republican candidate for the Rapides Parish School Board, along with future U.S. District Judge Nauman Scott
Nauman Scott
Nauman Steele Scott, II , was a Republican-appointed federal judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana from 1970 until 2001, who ordered cross-parish busing guidelines in 1980 to foster racial balance in Rapides Parish public schools...
and future Republican national committeeman and Louisiana state GOP chairman John H. Cade, Jr.
John H. Cade, Jr.
John Hamilton Cade, Jr. , was an Alexandria businessman and a pioneer in the development of the modern American Republican Party in Louisiana. Though he never held elected office himself, Cade was the GOP national committeeman and thereafter the Louisiana party chairman from 1976–1978...
At time there were six at-large seats on the body, but by the 1970s the board had converted to single-member districts.
At the time of her passing, Mrs. Boese was survived by her son, Robert Lamar Boese (born 1947), daughter-in-law, Dierdre Digiglia Boese (born 1957), and granddaughters, Erin and Kelly Boese, all of Broussard
Broussard, Louisiana
Broussard is a small city in Lafayette and St. Martin parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 6,754 from the 2005 Census Est.Broussard is part of the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
in Lafayette Parish.
Mrs. Boese was succeeded as poet laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
by Brenda Marie Osbey of New Orleans, who was appointed by Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco in 2005.