Linda Smith Dyer
Linda Smith Dyer | |
|---|---|
 Dyer in 1998 | |
| Born | Linda Smith August 6, 1948 |
| Died | September 27, 2001 (aged 53) |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | B.S. mathematics, University of Maine M.S. mathematics, University of Maine J.D., University of Maine (1980) |
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer, lobbyist, women's rights activist |
| Years active | 1977–2001 |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Maine Women's Hall of Fame (2001) |
Linda Smith Dyer (August 6, 1948 – September 27, 2001[1]) was an American lawyer, lobbyist, and women's rights activist. After a two-decade legal career, she entered public service as deputy commissioner of the Maine Department of Agriculture. She co-founded the Maine Women's Lobby and was active in the effort to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in Maine. A member on numerous boards and committees, she was a past president of the Maine State Bar Association and the Family Planning Association of Maine. She was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame in 2001, a few months before her death.
Early life and education
[edit]Linda Smith was born in Lewiston, Maine to Clement and Mary Ellen Smith. She had two brothers and two sisters. She grew up on her family's dairy farm in Monmouth.[2] After her mother's death in 1961, her father remarried.[2]
She earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics from the University of Maine at Orono. In 1980 she earned her Juris Doctor degree from that university.[2]
Attorney and lobbyist
[edit]In 1979 she joined the law firm of Doyle and Nelson in Augusta.[3] In 1981 she opened her own law practice in Augusta, which eventually became known as Dyer and Goodall.[2] In the 1980s and 1990s she specialized in legislative advocacy,[2] representing numerous groups including Tetra Pak Inc., a manufacturer of juice boxes,[4] ITW Hi-Cone,[5] and dairy and milk companies.[6][7]
In 1999[2] Dyer was named deputy commissioner of the Maine Department of Agriculture.[7] During her tenure, she chaired the Northeast Dairy Compact.[2][7]
Women's rights activist
[edit]In 1977 she was named presiding officer of the Maine State Meeting for Women, which elected 19 delegates, Dyer among them, to represent the state at the 1977 National Women's Conference.[8][9] In 1978 Dyer co-founded the Maine Women's Lobby with Janet T. Mills and Lois Galgay Reckitt.[10]
Dyer was active in the effort to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment in Maine, serving on the ERA for Maine steering committee[11] and appearing on a debate-style program on WVII-TV in 1984 as a proponent of the measure.[12] She rebutted claims by opponents that the amendment would yield taxpayer-funded abortions for low-income women and legalize same-sex marriage in the state.[11]
Other activities
[edit]Dyer was a member of the first town council in Winthrop in the 1970s, and was re-elected in 1998.[2] She founded and served as president of the Winthrop Educational Corporation, which raises funds to benefit local schools.[2] She served as chair and trustee of the Cobbossee Watershed District, was a labor consultant for the Maine State Employees Association and sat on the board of directors of Cushnoc Bank and Trust Company.[3][8] She carried out independent research surveying equal employment opportunity practices in the state government for the Maine Human Rights Commission.[8]
Memberships
[edit]A member of the Maine State Bar Association, she served as its president in 1998.[2] She was a board member of the Family Planning Association of Maine, serving as president in 1990.[2] She was a member of the Maine Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights. She was a board member of the University of Maine Foundation.[2]
Awards and honors
[edit]In 2001 Dyer was inducted into the Maine Women's Hall of Fame.[10] That same year, she received the Sarah Orne Jewett Award from the Maine Women's Fund for her efforts on behalf of women and girls.[2] The Maine Women's Policy Center established the Linda Smith Dyer Fellowship for qualifying law students in her memory.[13]
Personal life
[edit]Dyer married twice. With her first husband, Isaac W. Dyer, she had twin sons.[9][10][14] Her second husband is Charles Jacobs, a deputy commissioner for the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services, with whom she had one daughter.[2][7] They were residents of Winthrop.[7] Dyer died of cancer on September 27, 2001, age 53.[2][7]
References
[edit]- ^ Dates of birth and death for Linda S. Dyer per the United States Social Security Death Index
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "Linda S. Dyer". Sun Journal. 28 September 2001. p. A4.
- ^ a b "Deputy commissioner of agriculture chosen". Bangor Daily News. 27 May 1999. p. B4.
- ^ "Maine gets heavy duty bottle law". The Register-Guard. Associated Press. 23 October 1989. p. 6A.
- ^ "Bans". Sun Journal. 8 June 1993. p. 8.
- ^ Bright, David (19 January 1985). "Constitutionality of Maine milk-pool law debated before federal court". Bangor Daily News. p. 21.
- ^ a b c d e f "Linda Smith Dyer, former State House lobbyist, dies at 53". Bangor Daily News. Associated Press. 29 September 2001. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
- ^ a b c "Winthrop Woman to Preside at State Meet". Lewiston Evening Journal. 6 June 1977. p. 15.
- ^ a b "Maine Women's Hall of Fame – Honorees: Linda Smith Dyer". University of Maine at Augusta. 2016. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
- ^ a b c "Women's Hall of Fame inducts Pingree, Dyer". Bangor Daily News. 19 March 2001. p. B3.
- ^ a b "Supporters of Maine ERA denounce opponents' claims". Bangor Daily News. Associated Press. 23 October 1984. p. 13.
- ^ Remsen, Nancy (17 October 1984). "Debate on ERA crackles". Bangor Daily News. pp. 1, 3.
- ^ "2016 Linda Smith Dyer Fellowship". Maine Women's Policy Center. 31 May 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
- ^ "Withrop High School's top ten seniors". Lewiston Sun-Journal. 18 May 1984. p. 17A.
- American lobbyists
- American women's rights activists
- University of Maine alumni
- People from Lewiston, Maine
- People from Augusta, Maine
- Maine lawyers
- Maine local politicians
- Deaths from cancer in the United States
- 1948 births
- 2001 deaths
- People from Monmouth, Maine
- 20th-century American women lawyers
- 20th-century American lawyers