Myra A. McDaniel, Texas’ first African-American secretary of state and former St. Edward’s University chair of the Board of Trustees, died Thursday at age 77.

C. Robert Heath, a law partner of McDaniel’s at Bickerstaff, Heath, Smiley, Pollan, Kever and McDaniel, L.L.P., in Austin, said McDaniel had been battling lung cancer.

“She was a wonderful lawyer,” Heath said in an interview with the San Antonio Express-News. “She was somebody that was very wise, and clients and others depended on her and trusted her judgment.”

McDaniel gave 24 years of service to St. Edward’s, from 1986 to 2010, according to an announcement issued by the university. McDaniel was most recently chair of the board from 2004 to 2006. During her years of service to St. Edward’s, McDaniel worked with the Facilities Committee, as well as the Institutional Oversight and Academic Affairs Committee.

“Myra was a wise and faithful friend to the causes of educational excellence, quality health care and social justice,” said President George Martin. “Austin and Texas are better places because of her work. We will greatly miss her intelligence, energy and commitment.”

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s office also issued a statement extending his condolences to McDaniel’s friends and family. Perry noted that the former Texas secretary of state’s dedication to her community and person achievements made her an admirable example to young women.

“Myra McDaniel personified the Texas tradition of dedication to her community, from editing her church newsletter all the way to serving as Texas Secretary of State,” Perry said. “As the first black woman to hold that office, Myra served as a role model for a generation of young women, many of whom will follow the example she set in service to her fellow Texans. Her talents made her exceptional in all her pursuits, but her heart made her exceptional in life.”

McDaniel was born Dec. 13, 1932 in Philadelphia. In 1954, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in English. She went on to receive her law degree from the University of Texas School of Law in 1975.

McDaniel served as the first African-American Texas Secretary of State from 1984 to 1987, appointed by then-Texas Gov. Mark White.

In addition to her service as Texas Secretary of State, McDaniel served as general counsel to the governor, assistant special counsel to the Railroad Commission of Texas, assistant attorney general and chief of the Taxation Division within the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

After her stint as Texas Secretary of State, McDaniel returned to private law practice in 1987, where she went on to become the first African American woman to lead a major law firm as managing partner in 1995.

Flags on St. Edward’s campus were lowered to half-mast Friday in honor of McDaniel.

McDaniel is survived by her husband, Reuben R. McDaniel, Jr., professor of Management Science and Information Systems at the University of Texas at Austin, as well as her two children and five grandchildren.

 

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