Agencies
Services
1953-1961
First Lady Shirley Stratton was married to Governor William G. Stratton. She had two stepdaughters and after the governorship had a daughter.
David Kenney, A Political Passage: The Career of Stratton of Illinois (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1990 says:
After the inauguration, Mrs. Stratton “was intent on being much more than simply the keeper of the official residence. She was the first full-time hostess . . . for more than twenty-five years. . . . . Shirley was determined to become a full-time partner in the business of governing that state: she accepted the political life and all that went with it.” 111
In early 1956 she “was having a busy and exciting time. Study of the mansion file makes it apparent she was very much a partner in the business of governing and worked hard at it; she was efficient, well-liked, and a good hostess and correspondent.” 135
