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Thelma Pat Nixon (1912)close

Thelma Pat Nixon was born in Ely, Nevada. She married Richard Nixon in 1940. After her husband was elected 37th president of the United States in 1968, Pat began to use her position as first lady to encourage volunteer service. She was a literacy advocate who created a "Right to Read" program and worked to establish recreational areas in or near large cities for those who could not afford to visit distant national parks.

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