| Sources |
- [S926] Find-A-Grave, (www.findagrave.com).
Creekmore West Fath
Memorial
Photos
Flowers
Edit
Share
Learn about sponsoring this memorial...
Birth: May 1, 1916
Oklahoma, USA
Death: Jun. 25, 2009
Texas, USA
Creekmore Fath has been described as a statesman, a liberal lion, a standard bearer, a king-maker, and the most influential leader in TX politics, at a time when Texas politics were completely under the control of the Democrat Party. He served as the campaign manager for many high offices in Texas.
He was politically aligned with the ‘Democrat Loyalists' who were in opposition to the more moderate Democrats, known as ‘Regular Democrats'.
While in law school at the U of Texas he co-founded the Progressive Democrats organization. Soon after he was appointed to the FDR administration as a direct assistant to President Roosevelt. Roosevelt was quoted as saying that Fath "has the best political judgment of anyone his age in Washington."
He alone convinced Eleanor Roosevelt to testify before a Congressional Committee hearing and this was the first time that any First Lady had ever testified on Capitol Hill, thus launching Mrs .Roosevelt, and many First Ladies to follow, into a career of political activism for First Ladies. Prior to his personal influence on Eleanor, First Ladies were only gracious hostesses with no involvement in politics beyond waving to the crowds at campaign events. In this effort, Fath played a critical role in the establishment of the women's rights movement.
From his obituary in the Washington Post:
"Okay, Creekmore, you take care of that," Tolan said. The veteran lawmaker laughed, and his fellow committee members laughed with him. They knew, as Mr. Fath did not, that no first lady had ever testified on Capitol Hill.
The next morning, Mr. Fath called the White House and talked to Malvina Thompson, Mrs. Roosevelt's secretary. "I told her I desperately needed to use Mrs. Roosevelt at a hearing in December, that I wanted to use her as the gimmick," he recalled.
Mrs. Roosevelt invited him to tea at the White House the next afternoon, and, after clearing it with her husband, she agreed to testify. The panel stayed in business, in large part because of her endorsement of its work.
Later, Thompson told Mr. Fath that Mrs. Roosevelt agreed to meet with him because he was the only one who had ever admitted that he wanted to "use" her.
--------
Mr Fath was an avid collector of autographed, first edition books and art works, especially of Thomas Hart Benton. In retirement he compiled, edited and co-authored several books on art, including
"The Lithographs of Thomas Hart Benton: A Catalogue Raisonné" and
"Faith Collection Selected Prints from the United States and Mexico" 1915-1950.
As a long-time friend of President Clinton, he was accorded a coveted ‘sleep-over' in the Lincoln bedroom for his 80th birthday, by the Clintons.
His life as a political leader was heralded in extensive obituary articles in newspapers in Washington, DC, and throughout Texas. His wife of 60 years had preceded him in death. They had no children together; his closest surviving relative was his step-daughter.
His parents were Conrad F Fath & Minnie Creekmore West Fath
Conrad E. Fath, (Jan. 27, 1866 - Dec. 7, 1936), of OK, (50 years old at his birth) may have been his father or grandfather or otherwise related.
Family links:
Parents:
Minnie Creekmore West Fath (1887 - 1962)
Spouse:
Adele Hay Fath (1917 - 2007)
Siblings:
Conrad Frederick Fath (1913 - 1990)*
Creekmore West Fath (1916 - 2009)
Robert Edward Fath (1921 - 1932)*
*Calculated relationship
Burial:
Austin Memorial Park Cemetery
Austin
Travis County
Texas, USA
Plot: Sect 6
Created by: Robert Sage
Record added: May 13, 2012
Find A Grave Memorial# 90058859
|
1916 - 2009 (93 years)