Kitty Dukakis

American author

Katharine "Kitty" Dukakis (née Dickson; born December 26, 1936) is an American author. She is the wife of former Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis. She was the First Lady of Massachusetts from 1975 until 1979 and again from 1983 until 1991.[1]

Kitty Dukakis
Dukakis in 2015
First Lady of Massachusetts
In role
January 6, 1983 – January 3, 1991
Preceded byJosephine King
Succeeded bySusan Weld
In role
January 2, 1975 – January 4, 1979
Preceded byJessie Sargent
Succeeded byJosephine King
Personal details
Born
Katharine Dickson

(1936-12-26) December 26, 1936 (age 87)
Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Spouse(s)John Chaffetz (divorced)
(m. 1963)
Children4; including John

During the 1988 presidential election, many fake rumors were talked about in the media about the Dukakises, including the claim by Idaho Republican Senator Steve Symms that Kitty had burned a United States flag to protest the Vietnam War.[2]

In 1989, Dukakis was briefly hospitalized after drinking rubbing alcohol.[3] In 1991, she revealed in her autobiography that she had suffered from alcoholism and had depression.[4] She later became an activist supporting electroconvulsive therapy to treat patients with depression.[4]

References

change
  1. "Kitty Dukakis stylish half of political team". Milwaukee Sentinel. AP. 1988-05-27. Retrieved 29 August 2012.[permanent dead link]
  2. "Story on Mrs. Dukakis Is Denied by Campaign". New York Times. 1988-08-26. Retrieved 2016-05-27. Michael Dukakis's Presidential campaign, responding to comments by Senator Steve Symms, an Idaho Republican, issued a statement Wednesday saying any suggestion that Kitty Dukakis had ever burned an American flag was totally false and beneath contempt.
  3. "Kitty Dukakis Recovering". The New York Times. Associated Press. November 11, 1989. Retrieved 2007-10-11.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Seelye, Katharine Q. (December 31, 2016). "Kitty Dukakis, a Beneficiary of Electroshock Therapy, Emerges as Its Evangelist". The New York Times. Retrieved 2016-12-31.