Virginia deGravelles

Who is Virginia deGravelles?

Mary Virginia Wheadon deGravelles is a retiree from Lafayette who was the Louisiana Republican national committeewoman from 1964–1968, a position which constitutes automatic membership on the Republican National Committee. Her husband, Charles Camille deGravelles, Jr., an oil and gas landman, was the state party chairman from 1968–1972 and is considered to have been one of the founders of the modern Louisiana GOP. In 1968, when Mrs. deGravelles vacated the national committee position, her state party had only 28,427 registered members, barely 2 percent of the state's voters.

For a brief time in 1968, both deGravelleses were on the Republican National Committee, a husband-wife combination that has not since repeated itself.