MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2008 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Hopson, Chassaniol, Ward, Brown, Browning, Burton, Butler, Carmichael, Clarke, Davis (1st), Dawkins, Dearing, Fillingane, Frazier, Gollott, Gordon, Harden, Horhn, Hudson, Hyde-Smith, Jackson (11th), Jackson (15th), Jackson (32nd), Jones, Jordan, Kirby, Lee (35th), McDaniel, Mettetal, Michel, Moffatt, Montgomery, Nunnelee, Powell, Simmons, Stone, Walls, Watson, Wilemon, Yancey
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE LIFE OF FORMER MISSISSIPPI FIRST LADY PATRICIA OWENS (PAT) FORDICE AND RECOGNIZING HER OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS TO PUBLIC SERVICE.
WHEREAS, Patricia Owens "Pat" Fordice, whose public roles continued after her years as First Lady of Mississippi, died at her Madison home on Thursday, July 12, 2007; and
WHEREAS, Pat Fordice, who lived in Vicksburg with her family for 30 years before the election of her husband, Kirk Fordice, as Governor in 1991, was remembered by friends and eulogized by public officials as "a Mississippi treasure"; and
WHEREAS, born Patricia Owens in Jackson in 1934, she attended Christian College in Columbia, Missouri, and Memphis State University in Tennessee. She and Kirk Fordice had known each other since they attended high school in Memphis. The Fordices married in 1955 and moved to Vicksburg in 1962 so Kirk could join the family business, Fordice Construction Company; and
WHEREAS, Pat Fordice became a public figure after her then-husband Kirk Fordice, a construction company owner, was elected in 1991 as Mississippi's first Republican Governor since Reconstruction; and
WHEREAS, former Mississippi First Lady Pat Fordice championed arts, literacy and beautification projects, but close friends remember her as a woman with an adventurous spirit who embraced life and loved her family, friends and fellow Mississippians; and
WHEREAS, she was instrumental in bringing two popular international art exhibitions to Jackson. In 1996, "Palaces of St. Petersburg: Russian Imperial Style" featured tapestries, china, paintings and other glittering objects. Two years later, the "Splendors of Versailles" featured French treasures. Every time that she made an appearance, she made the state proud; and
WHEREAS, after leaving the Governor's Mansion in January 2000, Pat Fordice remained active as host of a radio talk show and co-host of a television talk show for Mississippi Public Broadcasting. She also appeared in a series of commercials for "Keep Mississippi Beautiful" and the Mississippi Department of Transportation as part of an antilittering campaign. Those ads left an indelible impression and Mrs. Fordice became an icon for Keep Mississippi Beautiful; and
WHEREAS, in recent years, Pat Fordice had supported the Children's Hospital at the University of Mississippi, the Mississippi School for the Arts, the International Ballet Competition and the Special Olympics. She was a spokeswoman for the Arthritis Foundation, having been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and later lobbying Congress for Medicare coverage of an arthritis drug. In November 2005, she resigned as the City of Jackson's interim head of human and cultural services; and
WHEREAS, on the passing of the former First Lady, Governor Haley Barbour stated "Pat Fordice was a model First Lady. She represented our state with strength, dignity and grace. As a respected Ambassador for Mississippi, Pat became a symbol for making the state a better place. Her compassion and leadership served as an inspiration to those who knew her, and she will be missed"; and
WHEREAS, two of her sons, Hunter Fordice and Daniel Kirkwood Fordice III, and her daughter, Angie Fordice Roselle, live in Vicksburg. Another son, Dr. James Owens Fordice, lives in Nashville. She is also survived by 12 grandchildren and a brother, Jimmy Owens of California; and
WHEREAS, Pat Fordice's passing leaves a large void in all that is good and representative of Mississippi, she is our eternal First Lady and we are forever blessed to have known her:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend the life of former Mississippi First Lady Patricia Owens (Pat) Fordice, recognizing her outstanding contributions to public service as a symbol for making the state a better place, and we express the sympathy of the Legislature to her surviving family on her passing.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Pat Fordice and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.