THE VFA PIONEER HISTORIES PROJECT
Thelma Stovall
April 1, 1919 – February 4, 1994
“Once you get in the labor movement you can’t get out. You get more and more interested.“
Lifelong advocate and champion for the rights of women & working people. First woman elected as state representative for Louisville, KY (1949) and served three consecutive terms. Elected Kentucky State Treasurer twice and Secretary of State of Kentucky three times. Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky (1975–1979). As acting governor, vetoed the legislature’s repeal of its ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, March 1978.

More About Thelma:
- Obituary
- Thelma Stovall to Lie in State
- Associates Offer Praise for Stovall
- Interview with Thelma Stovall
- Statement by Thelma Stovall upon vetoing the Kentucky legislature’s recission of the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, March 20, 1978
- Thelma Stovall collection, University of Louisville Archives and Special Collections Repository
- Wikipedia page