Leticia Van de Putte was born Leticia Rosa Magdalena Aguilar San Miguel in 1954 in Ft. Lewis, Washington where her father was stationed during his military service. Raised in San Antonio, Texas, she was president of the Horace Mann Junior High student council, and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1973 where she was the first Mexican American on the 'Lassos' pep squad. She married Peter Van de Putte in 1977 and received her Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Texas College of Pharmacy in 1979. She served on the Airport Advisory Board, Centro 21, the Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women, the Bexar County Parks Board, and was a precinct chair for the Democratic Party. She was president of the Bexar County Pharmacy Association and served as chairperson for the National Hispanic State Legislators. She was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1990 and to the Texas Senate in 1998. At the time of the interview, she was one of several Democratic Party affiliates in absentia from the Texas Special Legislative Session over redisricting. She co-chaired the 2008 Democratic National Convention and was still a member of the Texas Senate in 2009.
From the description of Oral history interview with Leticia Van de Putte 2003 [videorecording]. (University of Texas at Arlington). WorldCat record id: 424633771
