Ernestine D. Evans

Ernestine D. Evans
15th and 17th New Mexico Secretary of State
In office
1967–1970
GovernorDavid Cargo
Preceded byAlberta Miller
Succeeded byBetty Fiorina
In office
1975–1978
GovernorJerry Apodaca
Preceded byBetty Fiorina
Succeeded byShirley Hooper
Personal details
BornSeptember 17, 1917
Alamosa, Colorado, U.S.
DiedJune 9, 2010(2010-06-09) (aged 92)
PartyDemocratic

Ernestine B. Durán Evans (September 17, 1917 – June 9, 2010)[a], also known as Ernestine Griego, was an American educator, legislator and civil servant. She served as Secretary of State of New Mexico from 1967 to 1970 and from 1975 to 1978.[4][3]

Early life and education

Durán was born in Alamosa, Colorado and grew up on a ranch in El Rito, New Mexico, the daughter of a rancher, Gilbert Durán, and a schoolteacher, Maria Grace.[3] She was educated at the Spanish American Normal School (now Northern New Mexico College), and earned a teaching certificate.[5]

Career

Durán taught school at a lumber camp as a young woman.[5] Her husband Alcadio Griego was running for the state legislature for the Democratic Party in 1941 when he died from spinal meningitis; she was asked by the party to run in his place in the election. She was elected and served a two-year term in the New Mexico House of Representatives.[6] In 1942 she was held hostage by inmates while touring a state penitentiary with her mother.[7][8]

During World War II she worked as an administrator for a military hospital. In 1945, she became an administrator in the New Mexico land office and, in 1953, manager of finance for the state Board of Education.[9] Evans was administrative secretary for two state governors[9][10] and a member of the legislative council. In 1966, she was elected Secretary of State, and served two terms from 1967 to 1970.[11] She was elected again in 1974, for a term that ran from 1975 to 1978.[3][12] She was one of the first Hispanic women to hold statewide office in any US state.[13][14]

In 1986, she published Turquoise and Coral, a novel set in northern New Mexico.[5][12] In 2007, Governor Bill Richardson named State Road 554 "Ernestine D. Evans Road" in her honor.[6][15]

Personal life

Durán married fellow teacher Alcadio Griego in 1939.[16] They had a son, Stanley, born four months before Griego died suddenly in 1941.[6] She married her second husband, Seth L. Evans, in 1945.[17] Evans died in 2010, at the age of 92.[18]

Notes

  1. ↑ An obituary published in 2010 states that Evans was born on September 5, 1917.[1] An article published in the Santa Fe New Mexican reported that Evans was 92 when she died.[2] Telgen gives Evans' birth year as 1927.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Ernestine D. Evans". Santa Fe New Mexican – via Legacy.com.
  2. ↑ "A fond farewell to those departed in 2010". Santa Fe New Mexican. January 2, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Telgen, Diane (1993). Notable Hispanic American Women. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-8103-7578-9.
  4. ↑ "Past NM Secretaries of State". New Mexico Secretary of State.
  5. 1 2 3 Goldberg, Julia (1997-02-06). "Evans Meets Destiny in New Mexico Politics". Rio Grande Sun. pp. 33, 34, 35, 36. Retrieved 2026-05-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 Pacheco, Ana (2009-04-21). "Learning to 'roll with the punches'". The Santa Fe New Mexican. pp. C003. Retrieved 2026-05-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Held Hostage by State Convicts". Albuquerque Journal. 1942-05-14. p. 1. Retrieved 2026-05-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Woman Legislator Tells Story of Kidnaping by Convicts". The Santa Fe New Mexican. 1942-05-13. p. 1. Retrieved 2026-05-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 "Burroughs Names Office Secretary". Alamogordo Daily News. 1958-12-18. p. 10. Retrieved 2026-05-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Propp, Wren (1997-09-01). "Noon Tunes Group Jams for Residents of La Residencia". Albuquerque Journal. p. 66. Retrieved 2026-05-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Mrs. Ernestine D. Evans Honored at Cocktail Party and Buffet Supper". The Santa Fe New Mexican. 1966-07-20. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-05-22.
  12. 1 2 Shultz, Jeffrey D (2000). Encyclopedia of Minorities in American Politics: Hispanic Americans and Native Americans. p. 455. ISBN 1573561495.
  13. ↑ Conference on the Educational and Occupational Needs of Hispanic Women: June 29-30, 1976, December 10-12, 1976. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Institute of Education. 1980. p. 40.
  14. ↑ La Chicana, Building for the Future: An Action Plan for the 80's. National Hispanic University. 1981. p. 22.
  15. ↑ "Honor Well Deserved". Rio Grande Sun. 2005-11-03. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-05-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "'You Dry Those Tears and You Run'". The Santa Fe Reporter. 1996-12-04. p. 13. Retrieved 2026-05-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Marriage Licenses". The Santa Fe New Mexican. 1945-06-25. p. 1. Retrieved 2026-05-22 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ Terrell, Steve (2010-06-11). "Ernestine Evans, Rio Arriba's 1st female legislator, dies at 92". Santa Fe New Mexican. Retrieved 2026-05-22.
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