Former Rep. Edith Green of Oregon Dies at 77

Edith Green, a former schoolteacher whose name became synonymous with matters of education during her 20 years in Congress, has died of cancer.

Mrs. Green, who died Tuesday, was 77 and had been in a hospital in Tualatin, Ore., for more than a month.

A lifelong Democrat whose first speech in the House of Representatives after her 1954 election was a resounding condemnation of the lengthy eulogies to Groundhog Day she had just endured, Mrs. Green served 10 terms representing Oregon’s 3rd Congressional District. The district covers Multnomah County east of the Willamette River. She retired from the House in 1975.

Mrs. Green was the daughter of two schoolteachers and she taught in public schools herself before breaking into politics as an education lobbyist at the Oregon Legislature. There she led a successful campaign for changes in the way state funds were distributed to local districts.

She won her House seat by defeating popular journalist and future Oregon Gov. Tom McCall.

In Congress she became the second-ranking member on the House Education and Labor Committee and was credited with being the first to seek federal scholarships for college undergraduates.

She also was an early advocate of women’s rights, citing the early years of her life when she was dissuaded from careers in electrical engineering and the law “because those were for boys.” She also was the principal author of the Higher Education Act of 1972, remembered today for the Title IX legislation that ended sexual discrimination on school campuses with the tangential effect of strengthening women’s athletic programs.

Mrs. Green, who was divorced, served as Oregon chairwoman for the presidential campaigns of John and Robert Kennedy. But in 1976 she broke party ranks and became national co-chairwoman of Democrats for Gerald Ford.

After retirement, she served on boards of several corporations and returned to teaching, this time at the university.

“She would particularly like to be remembered for her efforts in the field of education . . . ,” said one of her two sons, Richard.