Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower
1953-1961

Mamie Geneva Doud was born in Boone, Iowa on November 14, 1896.
Her father earned a lot of money in the meat packing business. He retired when Mamie was seven and moved his family to Denver, Colorado.

In October 1915, she met Second Lieutenant Dwight Eisenhower.

They were married on July 1, 1916. Mamie was only 19 and Ike was twenty-five.

Library of Congress

A few weeks after they were married Dwight left for a temporary assignment. He said, "My country comes first and always will." Mamie was a little shocked.

Mamie and Dwight lived in 27 different locations in thirty-seven years as part of his role in the military.

Their first son Doud died of scarlet fever when he was only 3 years old. His nickname was "Icky."

When WWII began, Dwight was sent to Europe for three years.

Mamie volunteered for the Red Cross during the war.

She had an inner ear problem that caused her to stumble at times. There were rumors that she was an alcoholic based on her stumbling. She wasn't an alcoholic.

She joined Dwight in his campaign for the presidency in 1952 and enjoyed meeting people and large crowds.

Dwight died on March 28, 1969 and Mamie passed away on November 1, 1979. She was 83 years old. She is buried beside Dwight in Abilene, Kansas.

Visit our site on U.S. Presidents

Books and Websites

Books

Smithsonian Presidents and First Ladiesby James Barber and Amy Pastan.
First Ladies: Women Who Called The White House Home (First Ladies) by Beatrice Gormeley.

Websites

http://www.firstladies.org/ National First Ladies Library
http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/058_flal.htmlLibrary of Congress, Images of the First Ladies

Comments and/or corrections should be sent to Jim at jim@anewadventure.org.