The National Women’s Political Caucus shares in the celebration of life and profound mourning of the passing of the irreplaceable Frances “Sissy” Farenthold, the first chair of the National Women’s Political Caucus.
Sissy leaves a permanent legacy of global leadership as a devoted advocate and champion for human rights, women’s sexual and reproductive rights, global peace, environmental justice and education spanning over six decades.
Farenthold graduated from Vassar College in 1946 and from the University of Texas School of Law in 1949, where she was one of only three women in a student body of 800. After law school, Farenthold returned to Corpus Christi to practice law in her father’s firm.
Farenthold served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1969 to 1973, the only woman serving in the Texas House at the time. Along with Senator Barbara Jordan, at that time the only woman serving in the Texas Senate, Farenthold co-sponsored the Equal Legal Rights Amendment to the Texas Constitution, which was approved in 1972.
At the 1972 Democratic National Convention, Farenthold placed second in a field of seven candidates for the vice-presidential nomination. In 1972 and 1974, she unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for governor of Texas. In 1973, she was elected as the first chair of the National Women’s Political Caucus.
“The National Women’s Political Caucus is forever grateful to Sissy Farenthold for her role in creating a strong foundation that endures still today,” said Donna Lent, President, NWPC. “Sissy was our woman warrior and will always be remembered for her grit and gracefulness.”
To her family, friends and all who knew her from around the world, Sissy was the personification of righteousness, compassion, and justice.
Sissy passed away from complications of Parkinson’s disease surrounded by family and loved ones on September 26th, 2021.
LISTEN TO NWPC’S LEGACY PODCAST: She Speaks For Herself
Hosted by Lulu Flores
Past President, NWPC
Our Constitutional Rights Under Roe v. Wade by Frances “Sissy” Farenthold (1977)
http://www.nwpc.org/herstory
A special tribute event will be announced at a later date by the Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice at The University of Texas School of Law. Sissy had countless friends and collaborators around the world from her more than sixty years of activism, a number of whom established the Frances Tarlton “Sissy” Farenthold Endowed Lecture Series in Peace, Social Justice, and Human Rights, co-presented each year by the Rapoport Center and the Rothko Chapel.
For additional information and films about Sissy’s life and career, please visit https://law.utexas.edu/Farenthold.
VIDEO: A NOBLE CITIZEN: Frances “Sissy” Farenthold
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Sissy Farenthold Fund for Peace and Social Justice at the Rapoport Center, through this link:
http://www.utlsf.org/farenthold
The fund will continue Sissy’s legacy by sponsoring academic, advocacy, and creative work on a broad range of issues to which she was committed, including peace, environmental justice, and reproductive and sexual rights.
FULL BIOGRAPHY: https://law.utexas.edu/farenthold/about/about-farenthold/
Frances Tarlton “Sissy” Farenthold was a politician, attorney, activist and educator who placed second in nomination for the office of vice president of the United States at the 1972 Democratic National Convention, the first woman to be seriously considered as a vice-presidential candidate in the United States.
Farenthold was born on October 2, 1926 in Corpus Christi, Texas. Her grandfather, Judge Benjamin D. Tarlton, Sr., served as chief justice of the Texas Court of Civil Appeals, a state legislator and a professor at the University of Texas School of Law. Her father, Benjamin D. Tarlton Jr., served as district attorney for the 36th Judicial District in Hill County. Farenthold graduated from Vassar College in 1946 and from the University of Texas School of Law in 1949, where she was one of only three women in a student body of 800. After law school, Farenthold returned to Corpus Christi to practice law in her father’s firm.
Farenthold served in the Texas House of Representatives from 1969 to 1973, the only woman serving in the Texas House at the time. Along with Senator Barbara Jordan, at that time the only woman serving in the Texas Senate, Farenthold co-sponsored the Equal Legal Rights Amendment to the Texas Constitution, which was approved in 1972.
At the 1972 Democratic National Convention, Farenthold placed second in a field of seven candidates for the vice-presidential nomination. In 1972 and 1974, she unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for governor of Texas. In 1973, she was elected as the first chair of the National Women’s Political Caucus.
From 1976 to 1980, Farenthold was president of Wells College in Aurora, New York, the first female president of the college. In 1978, she founded the Public Leadership Education Network, which provides public policy internships and leadership opportunities for college women. In 1980, she left Wells College, opened a private law practice in Houston and taught law at the University of Houston.
The scope of her politics broadened, as she increasingly brought her attention to international activism. She joined the board of directors of the Helsinki Watch Committee, precursor of Human Rights Watch; and alongside her cousin Genevieve Vaughan, Sissy led protests against apartheid in South Africa and against nuclear proliferation. She helped organize the Peace Tent at the 1985 NGO Forum in Nairobi, held concurrently with the Third U.N. Conference for Women; and embarked upon peace and human rights missions throughout Central America, Asia, and the Middle East. She traveled to Rio de Janeiro for the worldwide Environmental Summit in June of 1992.
They also were founding members of Women For a Meaningful Summit, an ad hoc coalition of female leaders voicing concerns for nuclear disarmament at the Reagan-Gorbachev summits. Farenthold also worked with the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), a progressive multi-issue think tank devoted to peace, justice, and the environment.
When Sissy was at Wells, she and two friends created the bipartisan Public Leadership Education Network (PLEN) to encourage college-aged women to embark on lives of public service. The organization continues today.
Sissy taught law at the Thurgood Marshall Law School at Texas Southern University, where her students included future U.S. Rep. Al Green; and at the University of Houston, where she taught one of the nation’s first classes on sex-based discrimination.
Sissy proudly served as the chair of the board of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington; and of the interfaith Rothko Chapel in Houston, “a sea of humanism,” as she called it, with which she was involved for forty years. She also served on the advisory board of the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice at The University of Texas School of Law. Sissy had countless friends and collaborators around the world from her more than sixty years of activism, a number of whom established the Frances Tarlton “Sissy” Farenthold Endowed Lecture Series in Peace, Social Justice, and Human Rights, co-presented each year by the Rapoport Center and the Rothko Chapel.
In 2009, Sissy was the executive producer of Quest for Honor, a documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. It was short-listed for an Academy Award for best documentary.
In 2016, NWPC honored Sissy Farenthold and the Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice at The University of Texas School of Law with an Exceptional Merit in Media Award for their A Noble Citizen interactive oral history and archive.
Sissy is preceded in death by sons James and Vincent. She is survived by her sister Genevieve Hearon, by three beloved children—George E. Farenthold II (Lisa Marsh Ryerson) of Washington, D.C., Benjamin Dudley Tarlton Farenthold and Emilie Chevalier Farenthold of Houston—and by three grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and countless friends and admirers.
On behalf of the National Women’s Political Caucus, we honor her life and celebrate Sissy’s incredible accomplishments. NWPC will continue to take action on the legacy Sissy worked tirelessly for and imagined for our world.
Compiled & edited by Jen Myronuk, Public Humanities Producer, NWPC Legacy Project
