Tillie Fowler, 62; Representative Was Leader on Defense
Former Rep. Tillie Fowler, 62, who became prominent for her knowledge of defense during her four terms in Congress representing Florida and whose quiet tenacity earned her the nickname “Steel Magnolia,” died Wednesday at a Jacksonville hospital two days after suffering a brain hemorrhage.
Campaigning on an “eight is enough” term-limits pledge, Fowler was elected to the House of Representatives in 1992.
Although she rose to become vice chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, which made her fifth in the GOP hierarchy, she didn’t seek reelection in 2000.
After leaving Congress, she joined the national law firm of Holland & Knight.
Since 2003, she had been chairwoman of the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee, which advises Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.
She also headed the committee that investigated alleged sexual assaults at the Air Force Academy.
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