March Fong Eu, an educator who was the first woman to hold the office of Secretary of State in California, died late lat month following complications from surgery. She was 95 years old.
Dr. Eu was born in 1922 in Oakdale, California, where her parents ran a hand laundry. She earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Berkeley in 1943. Dr. Eu went on to earn a master’s degree in education from Mills College in Oakland and an educational doctorate from Stanford University.
Dr. Eu was the first woman to hold a division chair at the University of California, San Francisco, where she headed the dental hygiene program.
Dr. Eu was the first woman elected to the Alameda County Board of Education. In 1966, Eu was elected to the California State Assembly and served four terms. In 1974, she was elected to her first of five terms as Secretary of State for California. She was the first Chinese American to hold a statewide office in California. In 1994, Dr. Eu was appointed by President Clinton as U.S. Ambassador to Micronesia.