Ernestine Durán Evans (September 17, 1917 – June 9, 2010)[a] was a Spanish American legislator and civil servant. She served as Secretary of State of New Mexico from 1967 to 1970 and from 1975 to 1978.[4][3]

Ernestine D. Evans
15th and 17th New Mexico Secretary of State
In office
1967–1970
GovernorDavid Cargo
Preceded byAlberta Miller
Succeeded byBetty Fiorina
In office
1975–1978
GovernorJerry Apodaca
Preceded byBetty Fiorina
Succeeded byShirley Hooper
Personal details
BornSeptember 17, 1917
Alamosa, Colorado
DiedJune 9, 2010(2010-06-09) (aged 92)
Political partyDemocratic

Life

edit

The daughter of a rancher and a schoolteacher, she was born in Alamosa, Colorado and grew up on a ranch in El Rito, New Mexico.[3] She was educated at the Spanish American Normal School and earned a teaching certificate. She subsequently taught school at a lumber camp. Evans married Alcadio Griego. Her husband was running for the state legislature for the Democratic Party in 1941 when he died of spinal meningitis; she was asked by the party to run in his place in the election. She was elected and served a two-year term in the New Mexico House of Representatives. She then worked as an administrator for a military hospital during World War II. In 1945, she became an administrator in the New Mexico land office and, in 1953, a manager of finance for the state board of education. Evans was administrative secretary for two state governors and a member of the legislative council. In 1967, she was elected Secretary of State; she was elected again in 1975.[5][3]

In 1986, she published Turquoise and Coral, stories about people from northern New Mexico.[5]

Notes

edit
  1. ^ An obituary published in 2010 states that Owen was born on September 5, 1917.[1] An article published in the Santa Fe New Mexican reported that Evans was 92 when she died.[2] Telgen gives Evans' birth year as 1927.[3]
Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of State of New Mexico
1967–1970
Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary of State of New Mexico
1975–1978
Succeeded by

References

edit
  1. ^ "Ernestine D. Evans". Santa Fe New Mexican – via Legacy.com.
  2. ^ "A fond farewell to those departed in 2010". Santa Fe New Mexican. January 2, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d Telgen, Diane (1993). Notable Hispanic American Women. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-8103-7578-9.
  4. ^ "Past NM Secretaries of State". New Mexico Secretary of State.
  5. ^ a b Shultz, Jeffrey D (2000). Encyclopedia of Minorities in American Politics: Hispanic Americans and Native Americans. p. 455. ISBN 1573561495.