Rose Mofford, who rose from humble beginnings to become the first female governor of Arizona, has died. She was 94.
The Arizona Republic broke the news of Mofford's death Thursday, saying she passed away at a hospice facility in Phoenix.
Mofford, a Democrat, spent nearly three years as Arizona's governor. She was secretary of state when Republican Governor Evan Mecham was impeached in 1988, and under the terms of the Arizona Constitution, Mofford took over and served until 1991. She declined to run for her own full term in office, and Fife Symington, a Republican, succeeded her.
Mofford's long career in state government began as a secretary and included a two-year stint as the business manager for a little publication called Arizona Highways. She later became assistant secretary of state, then served as secretary of state for a decade prior to becoming governor. After retiring in 1991, she dedicated her life to charitable and civic activities.
The youngest of six children in a Globe copper-mining family, Mofford was the Globe High School valedictorian in 1940, when her name was Rose Perica. As Kirsten Kraklio reported in the September 2014 issue of Arizona Highways, the future governor told the school's graduating class, "We are the best-dressed, best-housed, best-fed people in the world."
As the Republic reported, Mofford's words of wisdom included an oft-repeated mantra: "Let your word be your bond. If you say you are going to do something, do it, and don’t make excuses. Be a good listener. Learn to listen and to listen to people’s suggestions. Learn from the people around you. And treat everyone with dignity.”
Information on a funeral service was not immediately available.