Jennie Fortune, New Mexico Politico

 

Thirty years ago tonight, on April 10, 1996, Juanita “Jennie” Fortune died at the Fortune family home on the plaza in Socorro, New Mexico. She was the second of the eight Fortune sisters, the fourth I’ve featured on this blog, after Lucy Fortune, Grandma's stepmother, and the Belasco Twins. Like her sisters, Jennie Fortune was an accomplished woman dedicated to her family and community. Her obituary in the Albuquerque Journal, April 13, 1996:

 

FORTUNE—Jennie Fortune, age 101, died Wednesday, April 10, 1996, at her residence in Socorro, New Mexico. Ms. Fortune was born in Socorro, New Mexico, on March 22, 1895, daughter of the late Edward and Guadalupe (Baca) Fortune. Jennie ran on the Democratic ticket in the early 1920s and became County Clerk of Socorro County and then later became Secretary of State from 1927 to 1928. She even served as Deputy Sheriff of Socorro County for a while. During World War II, she worked for a colonel at Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, Arizona. She managed and was co-owner of the Fashion Shop in Socorro for more than 20 years. Jennie was New Mexico’s 4th Secretary of State and while running for this position she predicted that if she was elected in 1927 the position of Secretary of State would always be held by a woman and to this date it has. She is survived by the following people: sisters, Josephine F. Cathcart and Elizabeth Fortune, both of Socorro, NM; nephews, Carlyle Cathcart of Arizona, Julius E. Sanchez of Albuquerque, Rozier E. Sanchez of Albuquerque, and Archbishop Robert F. Sanchez; nieces, Beverly Wible and Sharon Wheeler, both of Phoenix, AZ; and other relatives and friends. Rosary was recited Friday, April 12, 7:00 p.m., at San Miguel Catholic Church in Socorro. Funeral Mass will be celebrated this morning, April 13, 10:00 a.m. at San Miguel Catholic Church with Father Domingo Gumpal as Celebrant. Interment will be in the San Miguel Cemetery.

 

When elected New Mexico’s Secretary of State in 1927, Jennie Fortune took over from Soledad Chávez de Chacón, the first Hispanic woman elected to statewide office in the United States. That doesn’t mean Fortune was the second, but she was certainly among the earliest nationally. 

 

When we visited Socorro in 2015, we found Jennie’s grave while looking for Lucy’s.