Vesta Roy, 76; First GOP Woman Governor
Vesta Roy, 76, the first Republican woman to serve as governor of a state, died Saturday at her home in Kenmore, N.Y. The cause of death was not announced.
Roy was not elected but served for seven days as chief executive of New Hampshire after the death of Gov. Hugh Gallen in 1982.
As president of the state Senate, she had served as acting governor for a month while Gallen was hospitalized with liver and kidney failure, which ultimately brought about his death.
Roy served until John H. Sununu, who had beaten Gallen in the November 1982 election, was sworn into office in January.
A native of Michigan, Roy graduated from Wayne State University and served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II.
She entered politics in New Hampshire after the war, holding a series of municipal posts before running for the state Senate, where she served from 1979 to 1986.
She also was a state campaign advisor to Republican Presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
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