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Jane M. Alexander (November 10, 1929 – May 6, 2020) was an American politician and lawyer who served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1965 to 1969.
Jane Alexander | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 92nd district | |
| In office 1965–1969 | |
| Succeeded by | Eugene Geesey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 29, 1929 Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | May 6, 2020 (aged 90) Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | P. Nelson Alexander James A. McHale |
| Alma mater | Dickinson College of Law Dickinson College |
| Occupation | lawyer |
Jane Lehmer was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, on November 10, 1929.[1] Her family returned to Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, by the time she turned two, to live on land owned by her family since shortly after William Penn founded the Colony of Pennsylvania.[2][3] Lehmer's grandfather was a justice of the peace, and allowed her, aged five, to observe court proceedings over which he presided.[3] After Lehmer graduated from Dillsburg High School, she earned her bachelor's degree from Dickinson College in 1951,[4] followed by a degree in law from the Dickinson College of Law in 1954. She married P. Nelson Alexander,[4] with whom she raised two biological children.[2] Her second marriage was to James A. McHale,[4] whom she met while both worked at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.[2][5]
In 1955, Jane Alexander was admitted to the York County Bar Association.[6] She was the second woman to gain membership within the county bar, and the first to actively practice law.[2] Alexander began her legal career in criminal law.[3] She was elected to her first political office in 1955, and sat on the Dillsburg Borough Council as its first woman member.[2] She was named president of the body, serving from 1958 to 1959,[1] and was also the first woman to lead the council.[2] Alexander subsequently served as a member of the Northern Joint School Board.[1][2] Affiliated with the Democratic Party, Alexander was elected to two terms on the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, serving the 92nd District from 1965 to 1969.[1][2] Upon taking office, Alexander became the first women to represent York County in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.[7] She lost her second reelection campaign in 1968.[1][2] Between 1969 and 1972, Alexander was appointed to the Children's Services Advisory Board.[1][6] She then worked for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Foods and Chemistry. Governor Milton Shapp subsequently named her deputy agricultural secretary for the state.[3] Alexander became the first woman in the United States to serve as deputy secretary of agriculture at the state level.[3] She remained in that role through 1978, when she became the owner and president of J&J Agri-Products and Services Inc., in Dillsburg.[3] Alexander practiced law until her death,[4] focusing on family law, estates and real estate.[3] Alexander died at Harrisburg Hospital, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, aged 90, on May 6, 2020.[6][8]
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