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Former First Lady Remembered

November 16th, 2015 by flanews

The life of former Florida first lady Rhea Chiles was celebrated today in the Capital. As Matt Galka tells us, the woman behind former Governor Lawton Chiles’ left a lasting impact on the state.

Music and prayer filled the First Presbyterian Church in Florida’s capital city as former Florida First Lady Rhea Chiles’ life was celebrated.  She was the wife of Florida Governor Lawton Chiles.

Dozens gathered to pay their respects including Chiles’ Lieutenant Governor Buddy MacKay.

“She was a brilliant woman, had a great sense of timing and a great understanding of where our priorities should be,” he said.

Many credit Rhea for being the brains behind the successful Walkin’ Lawton campaign. Lawton Chiles walked from Pensacola to Key West during his 1970 campaign for the U.S. Senate.

“That very much was her idea, they knocked on every door in the district when they first ran for the Senate, and they thought they could do the same thing symbolically and it turns out it really connected Lawton to the people, and that connection you could see everywhere you look,” said MacKay.

As family members and friends remembered a graceful woman, former staffer Ron Sachs says it was Rhea who truly helped keep the state running.

“If you wanted to get anything done it was always smart to get her ear and her approval. She improved any idea she wanted to do,” he said.

Rhea’s final resting place will lie next to her husband Lawton in rural Leon County. Rhea Chiles also played a major role in the children’s programs instituted under Governor Lawton Chiles.

 

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