Preceded by Laura Bush Name Anita Perry Role Rick Perry's wife | Spouse Rick Perry (m. 1982) Political party Republican Party Republican Party | |
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Preceded by Gloria Jan Felts Bullock Full Name Mary Anita Thigpen Born May 5, 1952 (age 71)
Haskell, Texas, USA ( 1952-05-05 ) Alma mater West Texas A&M University
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Residence Austin, Texas, United States Children Griffin Perry, Sydney Perry Parents Beunis Thigpen, Joseph Eltidge Thigpen Education West Texas A&M University, Texas Tech University, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Profiles | ||
Succeeded by Sally Sandlin Ratliff Succeeded by Cecilia Phalen Abbott | ||
Mary Anita Thigpen Perry (born May 5, 1952) was the longest-serving First Lady of Texas; being in that role from 2000 to 2015. She is the wife of former Governor and current United States Secretary of Energy Rick Perry. As First Lady of Texas, she had been an active advocate for nursing and other health care issues. The Anita Thigpen Perry Endowment at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio focuses on nutrition, cardiovascular disease, health education, and early childhood development. In 2008, the Anita Thigpen Perry School of Nursing at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center was renamed in her honor.
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Early life and education
Perry was born in Haskell, Texas. She is the youngest daughter of family physician Joseph Eltidge Thigpen (September 30,1920 - April 16,2013), a native of Bay Springs, Mississippi, and homemaker Beunis Fay Ratliff Thigpen, originally from Haskell. Her parents met in Tyler, where Beunis was visiting relatives. Dr. Thigpen had a distinguished flight record in World War II and earned several medals, including the Bronze Star. He also flew his own plane and was known for making house calls long after the practice ceased to be the norm. Her paternal grandfather was also a doctor and also named Joseph Thigpen. She is named for a paternal aunt, Anita Thigpen Yelverton (September 2,1918 - October 16,1999). She had three siblings: Joseph Emmitt Thigpen (November 27,1945 - December 12,2013,an attorney in Austin who is a former county attorney and former district attorney), Peggy Hairgrove, and Emily Solis. Like Rick, she is a graduate of Haskell High School. She spent her first year of college at Texas Tech University, but because they did not have a nursing program at the time, she switched to West Texas State University in Canyon, where she received a bachelor's degree in nursing in 1974. She then obtained a Master of Science degree in nursing from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. She worked in the nursing profession for more than 17 years, including surgery, pediatrics, intensive care, administration, and teaching and as a consultant. Although the Perry tax returns indicate she worked as a nurse and took in less than $8,000 a year between 1987 and 1990, upon Rick's election as Texas Agriculture Commissioner, she left nursing.
First Lady of Texas
Perry became First Lady of Texas in 2000 when Rick became governor after the resignation of President-elect George W. Bush. He previously served for two years as lieutenant governor.
In October 2000, she and Rick hosted the first Texas Conference for Women which became an annual event. The conference addresses such issues as professional development, health care, and personal growth.
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center renamed its nursing school in Perry's honor on August 22,2008, and two nursing endowments are also set up in her name: the Anita Thigpen Perry Nursing Excellence Scholarship at West Texas A&M University and the Anita Thigpen Perry Endowment at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
2012 Presidential election
Rick announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in the 2012 presidential election on August 13, 2011, in Charleston, South Carolina.
On January 19, 2012, Rick announced he would suspend his campaign and return to Texas.
Personal life
Perry met Rick from the nearby community of Paint Creek, when they were both children at an elementary school piano recital. They married on November 6, 1982 in Haskell, Texas. They have a son, Griffin Richard Perry born August 14, 1983, in Haskell, Texas, married Meredith Elizabeth Lewis December 19, 2009, in Dallas, Texas, and a daughter, Sydney Alison Perry born August 18, 1986, in Haskell, Texas, married U.S. Navy Captain Brett Michael Hayes on October 15, 2016, in Las Vegas, Nevada. They previously attended the Tarrytown United Methodist Church. In Austin, they belong to nondenominational Lake Hills Church since 2010. They also have two granddaughters Ella Gray Perry, born June 20, 2013, and Piper Thigpen Perry, born February 7, 2015.