Dedicated:
May 7, 2009
SPONSOR:
Members of the Republican Party and devoted
Friends of Pat and Kirk Fordice
Governor
and Mrs. Kirk Fordice:
Vicksburg's Governor and Mississippi's First Lady
In
1991, Daniel Kirkwood "Kirk" Fordice, Jr. was the first
Republican to be elected governor of
Mississippi
in 118 years.
A
graduate of
Purdue
University
, Governor Fordice served two years of active duty as an engineer
officer with the 1st Infantry Division of the U. S. Army and retired a
colonel in the U. S. Army Reserves after serving 18 years.
He
founded Fordice Construction Company in
Vicksburg
and served as the president of the Associated General Contractors of
America
in 1990 and was named the Association's Man of the Year in 1992.
Fordice
served a second term as governor after winning reelection in 1995.
Patricia
Owens "Pat" Fordice served her state tirelessly as first
lady, promoting literacy, the arts, health issues, strong families,
and volunteerism. U. S. Representative Chip Pickering's
remembrances best describe why Mississippians loved their first lady,
"Regal yet approachable, she possessed a natural Southern
elegance that transcended her term and endeared her to our
hearts."
Governor
and Mrs. Fordice raised four children and were beloved grandparents.
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