For the week of September 3 - 9, 2003

Memoir for historians

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Unlike most spouses of celebrity public figures, Bethine Church has not suffered the inevitable obscurity reserved for mates.

And for good reason: She simply chose not to walk in the shadows during the life of her husband, the late four-term U.S. Sen. Frank Church, nor to fade away as a widow now in her 80th year.

She immersed herself as the activist grand dame of Idaho’s Democratic Party, the driving force for the annual Frank Church lecture series, the patron saint of the Sawtooth Society, and a willing volunteer for any appeal requiring wisdom and energy.

Now she adds another title—author.

Her new book, "A Lifelong Affair: My Passion for People and Politics," (328 pages, The Francis Press, $26) is an important contribution to the political archives of Idaho and the nation, as well as a travelogue of her jouneys and travails through life with a man who pioneered daring environmental laws and took on the CIA’s secrecy.

Bethine Church, the daughter and niece of Idaho governors, shares the joys and heartbreak, plus personal details of encounters with the powerful of Washington as well as world capitals.

Sen. Church, the youngest U.S. senator when first elected, left a distinguished legacy of courage, vision and legislative boldness by the time he died in 1984.

Bethine Church has already provided an admirable legacy of civic achievement for history to judge, and now adds a book worthy of study in college political science classes as well as inspiration for others seeking to bring good to their communities.

 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.