Anita Thigpen Perry

As First Lady, Mrs. Perry championed a number of healthcare-related issues, including domestic violence awareness, breast cancer awareness, childhood immunizations, and the critical nursing shortage.

Among her many honors, Mrs. Perry was inducted into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame for Leadership in 2014. Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center recognized her contributions to health care by renaming its nursing school the Anita Thigpen Perry School of Nursing in 2008. She was also honored by West Texas A&M University with the establishment of the Anita Thigpen Perry Nursing Excellence Scholarship. The March of Dimes tapped Mrs. Perry as its National Chair for Childhood Immunization in 2004.

In 2001, The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio established the Anita Thigpen Perry Endowment to help support the Center for Community-Based Health Promotion, focusing on improving areas in nutrition, cardiovascular disease, health education, and early childhood development for women and children in South Texas. Mrs. Perry earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from West Texas State University in Canyon and a master’s degree in nursing from the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio.