Baylor Proud

Few people in Texas history have had the political power of Lyndon B. Johnson, and few people in history had the access to Johnson that Mildred Stegall — Baylor class of 1929 — enjoyed.

Stegall, who turned 103 last month, had a front-row seat for much of LBJ’s career as a chief aide during his time both in the U.S. Senate and in the White House. She first entered Johnson’s world when her husband, Glynn, became a legislative aide for LBJ in 1942. A decade or so later, Mildred joined her spouse on staff. The pair followed Johnson to Washington, D.C., when LBJ was elected vice president in 1960, but Glynn passed away shortly before Johnson became president.

When Johnson took over in the Oval Office following John F. Kennedy’s assassination, he made Stegall “assistant to the president” and gave her a large office down the hall from the Oval Office. Her role for the next five years included serving as White House liaison to the FBI and custodian to Johnson’s secret telephone recordings of meetings in the White House and at Johnson’s Texas ranch (tapes that later proved a treasure trove of history related to the Vietnam War and other issues of the time). Even after LBJ’s term was up, Stegall continued to work for the former President and later his wife, Lady Bird Johnson.

Fifteen years ago, Stegall wrote down her memories of those days to preserve the history for her family. This spring, her family publicly released the hand-written 31-page document to preserve their matriarch’s place in history (click here to read it as a PDF). The stories reveal an intimate look at a Texas legend.

Interestingly, when Stegall graduated from Baylor in 1929, she was neither the first nor the last in her immediate family to become a Baylor Bear. Her father, Robert Forbes, attended the university before her, and her two sisters, Frances and Roberta, each earned degrees from Baylor. After leaving Washington in 1969, Stegall lived in Austin until about two years ago, when she moved to a nursing home in Fort Worth to be nearer her family.

Sic ’em, Mildred!

[We received this story recently, and it was just too inspiring not to share. Below is the condensed version; click here for a longer telling written by the subject's granddaughter, Cheryl Shafer Bland, BSED '85.]

On Aug. 13, 1911 — almost 100 years ago — Frances Elizabeth Schmoyer was born to a poor family right here in Waco. At an early age, Frances figured out that education would be her way to a better life, and that Baylor University was the place for her — so much so that when her high school sweetheart begged her to follow him to the University of Texas, she declined, and the relationship ended.

To pay for her expenses, Frances took a job as principal for a one-room schoolhouse at the age of 18. She earned her degree from Baylor in 1933 and continued to teach after graduation; a few years later, she met and married a young Baylor law graduate named Albert Derden, JD ’28. The couple had two children, Zoe Ann and Albert Jr., and settled in Austin.

In the ensuing years, the family battled a great deal of adversity: Albert’s depression was followed by a stroke that temporarily paralyzed Frances. Lung cancer claimed Albert’s life before his 65th birthday, and just a few years later, Zoe Ann died of a rare blood cancer. But thanks to her faith, Frances persevered. She still lives alone and drives herself, and as she approaches her 100th birthday, she is a proud grandmother of four (including three Baylor Bears: Cheryl Ann Shafer Bland, BSED ’85; Chris Derden, BBA ’90; and Laura Derden Hargrove, BSED ’94) and great-grandmother of nine (many of them pictured above).

What a life — such a testimony!

Sic ’em, Frances!

[We learned of this story from a Bear who shared her Baylor pride. Do you know of an inspiring story, news item, or just a fun link that makes you proud of Baylor and the Baylor family? Let us know! Click here to submit your point of pride!]