Cathy Long, won husband’s US House seat after his death
By JANET McCONNAUGHEY
Associated Press
Cathy Long, a Louisiana Democrat who won her husband’s U.S. House seat after his death in 1985, has died. She was 95.
Her family says dementia was the cause.
Long beat three competitors with 56% of the vote. She didn’t run for reelection to the seat Gillis Long had held for a total of 16 years.
Mary Catherine Small was born in Dayton, Ohio. She joined the Navy at age 20, during World War II, serving at a Navy hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas.
The Longs met at Louisiana State University, where both enrolled after the war. They married in 1947.
Their son, George Long, says his mother probably worked on Gillis Long’s campaign for LSU student body president, as well as all of his later campaigns.
Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.