Thomas L. Ashley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's9th district | |
| In office January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1981 | |
| Preceded by | Frazier Reams |
| Succeeded by | Ed Weber |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas William Ludlow Ashley (1923-01-11)January 11, 1923 Toledo, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | June 15, 2010(2010-06-15) (aged 87) Leland, Michigan, U.S. |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Yale University (BA) Ohio State University (JD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Thomas William Ludlow "Lud"Ashley (January 11, 1923 – June 15, 2010) was anAmerican businessman and politician of theDemocratic Party. He served as aU.S. representative fromOhio from 1955 to 1981.[1]
Ashley was born on January 11, 1923, inToledo, Ohio, and raised in the Old West End. He was the son of Mary Alida Gouverneur (née Ludlow) Ashley and William Meredith Ashley,[2] who owned a small steel manufacturing firm. His older brother William was killed in May 1944, at age 22, when his Army bomber exploded during a training mission over Massachusetts.[3]
Ashley attendedMaumee Valley Country Day School and graduated from theKent School in Connecticut in 1942.[4] DuringWorld War II, he served in theUnited States Army as a corporal in thePacific Theater of Operations. After the war, Ashley attendedYale University, where he graduated in 1948. At Yale, he was a member of the secret societySkull and Bones along with future U.S. PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush.[5]
After graduating from Yale, Ashley worked with the Toledo Publicity and Efficiency Commission. Encouraged byMichael DiSalle, thenmayor of Toledo and latergovernor of Ohio, he began studying law through night classes at theUniversity of Toledo College of Law. He graduated fromOhio State University College of Law in 1951. He was admitted to the bar that year and began practicing law.
Ashley joined the staff ofRadio Free Europe (RFE) in 1952. He served in Europe for RFE as the co-director of the press section and later the assistant director of special projects. He resigned from RFE on March 1, 1954, to run for Congress.[3]
Ashley was elected to Congress in 1954, beating the incumbentFrazier Reams, an independent, by 4,000 votes in a three-way race. He served 13 terms in Congress and was chairman of the Select Committee on Energy (Ad Hoc) from 1977 to 1979 and of theUnited States House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries from 1979 to 1981.[3]
In 1961, Ashley was one of six congressmen who voted to withdraw funding for theHouse Un-American Activities Committee. He helped pass the1964 Civil Rights Act and was a proponent of anti-poverty and housing legislation.[3]
In 1980, Ashley lost in an upset to Republican challengerEd Weber.[6]
Ashley was a member of theGeorge H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum board and served on many corporate boards, includingFannie Mae andFreddie Mac, the country's two largest mortgage lenders.[3]
Ashley was twice married. He married Margaret Mary Sherman in 1956 and had a daughter, Lise Ashley Murphy, but they separated and divorced quickly thereafter. He married Kathleen Lucey in 1967 at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption in Trenton, New Jersey.[4] Kathleen, the daughter of Charley Lucey (editor ofThe Times Newspapers in Trenton), was a graduate ofTrinity College andGeorgetown Law School and the Washington editor for the United StatesSavings and Loan League.[4] They had two children:[3]
Kathleen Ashley died of heart failure atGeorge Washington University Hospital in 1997.[8] Lud Ashley lived inLeland, Michigan, until his death frommelanoma at his home on June 15, 2010.[3] After his death, George H. W. Bush said in a statement that he andBarbara Bush "mourn the loss of a very close friend" and said Ashley "might well have been my very best friend in life."[3]
Ashley was the great-great-grandson ofJames Mitchell Ashley, who was a U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1859 to 1869, and was one of the main architects of theThirteenth Amendment.
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 |  YThomas L. Ashley: 48,471 | Irving C. Reynolds: 39,933 | Frazier Reams (Independent, Incumbent): 44,656 |
| 1956 | YThomas L. Ashley (Incumbent): | Harvey G. Straub: 81,562 | (none) |
| 1958 | YThomas L. Ashley (Incumbent): 102,115 | William K. Gernheuser: 63,660 | (none) |
| 1960 | YThomas L. Ashley (Incumbent): 108,688 | Howard C. Cook: 82,433 | (none) |
| 1962 | YThomas L. Ashley (Incumbent): 86,443 | Martin A. Janis: 64,279 | (none) |
| 1964 | YThomas L. Ashley (Incumbent): 109,167 | John O. Celusta: 64,401 | (none) |
| 1966 | YThomas L. Ashley (Incumbent): 83,261 | Jane M. Kuebbeler: 53,777 | (none) |
| 1968 | YThomas L. Ashley (Incumbent): 85,280 | Ben Marsh: 63,290 | (none) |
| 1970 | YThomas L. Ashley (Incumbent): 82,777 | Allen H. Shapiro: 33,947 | (none) |
| 1972 | YThomas L. Ashley (Incumbent): 110,450 | Joseph C. Richards: 49,388 | (none) |
| 1974 | YThomas L. Ashley (Incumbent): 64,831 | Carty Finkbeiner: 57,892 | (none) |
| 1976 | YThomas L. Ashley (Incumbent): 91,040 | Carty Finkbeiner: 73,919 | Edward S. Emery: 1,533 Lynn Galonsky: 1,477 |
| 1978 | YThomas L. Ashley (Incumbent): 71,709 | John C. Hoyt: 34,326 | Edward S. Emery: 2,563 Michael James Lewinski: 4,530 |
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromOhio's 9th congressional district 1955–1981 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by John M. Murphy New York | Chairman ofHouse Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee 1980–1981 | Succeeded by Walter B. Jones Sr. North Carolina |
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Italics indicates acting chairman | ||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
