Elaine Edwards, Louisiana's former first lady, dies at 89: report
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Elaine Edwards, wife of Louisana Gov. Edwin Edwards, in a 1997 press photo from the governor's office.
Elaine Schwartzenburg Edwards, the former first lady of Louisiana, died Monday (May 14) at her daughter's home in Denham Springs, her family confirmed to WAFB-TV. She was 89 and had been under hospice care for respiratory problems.
She was the wife of former Gov. Edwin Edwards, making her the longest-serving first lady during three of his four terms in office -- 1972-80 and 1984-88. The couple divorced in 1989, before Edwin Edwards was voted back into office in 1992.
In 1972, Elaine Edwards was appointed U.S. senator to serve out a portion of the remaining term of Sen. Allen Ellender of Houma, who had died in office.