The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture

EDMONDSON, JEANNETTE BARTLESON (1925–1990).

Jeannette Bartleson Edmondson served as Oklahoma’s fourteenth first lady from January 12, 1959, to January 6, 1963. Although her husband, James Howard Edmondson, was the sixteenth governor, she became the fourteenth first lady because two former governors were unmarried while in office. From 1979 to 1987 she also served as Oklahoma secretary of state under Govs. George P. Nigh and Henry S. Bellmon. Jeannette Bartleson, born on June 6, 1925, in Muskogee, Oklahoma, was the oldest of two daughters of Augustus Chapman and Georgia Shutt Bartleson.

Following graduation from Central High School in Muskogee in 1942, Jeannette Bartleson continued her education at Hollin’s College in Roanoke, Virginia. She finished her degree work at the University of Oklahoma (OU), graduating with a bachelor’s degree in French in 1946. While attending the university, she served as secretary and president of the Entre Nous French club and as chair of the scholarship committee for Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. On May 15, 1946, in Muskogee, Oklahoma, Jeannette Bartleson married her childhood sweetheart, J. Howard Edmondson. She taught French at OU while her husband finished his law degree. They had three children: James Howard, Jr. (Jimmy), Jeanne, and Patricia Lynn. A fourth child passed away in 1961.

In 1958 she actively campaigned during her husband’s run for Oklahoma governor on the Democratic ticket. She corresponded with volunteers through letters and the telephone and traveled around the state to talk to women’s groups. J. Howard Edmondson won the election in November 1958. As first lady, Jeannette Edmondson told news reporters that she wanted to improve the Governor’s Mansion’s grounds by planting more trees. She also had a new heating and air system installed to replace radiators and replaced the carpet and drapes on the first floor. Many Oklahoma businesses donated appliances and other items. A group of volunteers, some of whom who had helped in Edmondson’s campaign, assisted in cleaning and painting the mansion’s interior. The third-floor ballroom was converted into a children’s playroom.

J. Howard Edmondson resigned his office on January 6, 1963, to fill the remaining term of U.S. Sen. Robert S. Kerr, who had died in January 1963. The Edmondsons lived in Washington, D.C., from 1963 to 1965. They returned to Oklahoma, and he established a law practice. He died of a heart attack on November 17, 1971. To support herself Jeannette Edmondson acquired a real estate license. In July 1975 she married Oklahoma City home builder Clarence Edward “Jack” Duffner, Jr. They divorced in June 1978.

Edmondson also began her own political career. In 1979 governor-elect George P. Nigh appointed her as Oklahoma secretary of state. Because of the passage of State Question 511 in 1975, she was the first individual appointed, rather than elected, to the office. Nigh’s successor, Gov. Henry S. Bellmon, continued her appointment, but in September 1987 she decided to resign. Edmondson was the first woman to hold the secretary of state position for a full term. She was succeeded by Hannah Atkins.

While she was secretary of state, Edmondson served as president of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). During her presidency Oklahoma hosted the NASS annual convention in August 1981. She also served as president of the Oklahoma affiliation of the American Heart Association and belonged to the Council of State Governments. Jeannette Bartleson Edmondson died on July 11, 1990, in Oklahoma City. She was buried in Memorial Park Cemetery, where her first husband and son were also buried.

Linda D. Wilson