Buchanan, Vera Daerr, 1902-1955

<p>Bookended by tragedy, Vera Buchanan’s brief tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives began in 1951 as an extension of her late husband’s legislative efforts representing blue-collar steel workers in southwest Pittsburgh. But by the time she stood for re-election 18 months later in the newly reapportioned, more center-city district, Buchanan demonstrated that she was not merely a caretaker of the office her husband once held, but a skilled politician in her own right.</p>

<p>Vera Daerr was born in Wilson, Pennsylvania, on July 20, 1902, daughter of John Daerr and Jennie Leasure Daerr. She grew up in the steel mill town of Duquesne, Pennsylvania, and attended local public and parochial schools. After high school, she worked as a secretary for a Duquesne steel company. In 1929 Vera Daerr married Frank Buchanan, an automobile dealer and teacher, and the couple raised twin daughters: Jane and Joan. In 1942 Vera Buchanan helped her husband win election as mayor of McKeesport, a post which he held for four years. Vera operated a beauty shop and was a member of the Democratic Women’s Guild. As the first lady of McKeesport, she conducted a listening campaign to familiarize herself with the needs of constituents and began cultivating a support base for future election campaigns. In May 1946, Frank won the special election to fill the vacancy left in the 79th Congress (1945–1947) by the resignation of Representative Samuel Weis. The Congressman was re-elected to the next three consecutive terms. Serving on the Banking and Currency Committee, Frank Buchanan became an expert in housing legislation and earned a reputation as a bright, candid, and liberal Member of the House. He chaired a select committee that brought to light extensive corporate and union lobbying efforts on Capitol Hill. Vera Buchanan served as her husband’s secretary during his five-year tenure in Congress.</p>

<p>Vera Buchanan’s leap into elective politics came unexpectedly when Congressman Buchanan died suddenly on April 27, 1951, at the age of 48. The Pennsylvania Democratic Party chose his widow to run for the vacated seat; she accepted the invitation. “We were a very close-knit family,” Buchanan later explained. “Frank’s death was a great shock. I decided to run because I wanted to see the things he believed in carried on.” Part of Buchanan’s motivation was to clear her husband’s name after he had been attacked by a redbaiting columnist. Prior to his death, Frank Buchanan had developed a lengthy refutation which he was never able to deliver on the House Floor—and Vera Buchanan wanted to put it on the record herself.</p>

<p>Vera Daerr Buchanan (July 20, 1902 – November 26, 1955) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from 1951 to 1955. She was the first female member of the U.S. Congress to ever die while holding office, and she and her husband, who had also died in office, were the first congressional wife and husband to both die while still in office.</p>

<p>Born in Wilson, Pennsylvania (later part of Clairton) on July 20, 1902, Vera Daerr was a daughter of John Daerr and Jennie Leasure Daerr. A student of the public and parochial schools in Duquesne, Pennsylvania during her formative years, she graduated from high school there, and went on to secure employment as a secretary for that community's steel mill. After marrying automobile dealer and teacher Frank Buchanan in 1929, she and her husband raised twin daughters.</p>

<p>In 1942, she helped her husband win the mayoral election in McKeesport, Pennsylvania. According to historians at the U.S. House of Representatives, as McKeesport's first lady, Vera Daerr Buchanan then initiated "a listening campaign to familiarize herself with the needs of constituents and began cultivating a support base for future election campaigns." Four years later, her husband won the May 1946 special election, filling a vacancy left in the 79th Congress (1945–1947) Representative Samuel Weis's resignation.</p>