Submitted Photo Mary Lanphere traveled to Greensboro, N.C., earlier this fall to be elected as AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary National President.

PORTLAND — James “Frito” Lanphere was immensely proud of his wife, Mary, throughout her years of service with the AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary.

One could argue he was even more proud of her service than his own. James Lanphere, known by some as Frito and Jim by others, served with the Marine Corps from 1961-1967.

After he passed away in mid-August, just days later, Mary proved her husband’s pride was well founded.

Mary Lanphere was elected as the National AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary President just days after her husband’s death. She brought the guest badge reserved in his name with her on stage as she was announced as the new leader of the national organization.

“I held that in my hand and I said he’s with me,” she said.

Lanphere didn’t even know if she would make the trip to Greensboro, N.C., after her husband’s passing, but everyone close to her said it was not even a question. It was what Jim would have wanted.

“All he ever wanted was to see me become National President,” Lanphere said of her late husband’s unwavering support. “Sometimes I think he wanted it more than I did.”

Jim Lanphere missed the trip to witness his wife’s election by a day, as he succumbed to a lengthy illness at his home. The family held a celebration of his life a month later.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Lanphere always had a lot of respect for the military. It started when she grew up with nearly nothing to her name, when a couple of Marines visited her home around the holidays. She was living in a one-room shack without running water, and vividly recalls one of the Marines saying to her how he wish he could do more for her.

“Even as a child, that meant a lot — that somebody cared,” Lanphere said.

That moment of kindness and respect left a lasting impression on her. It should come as no surprise that she later married a Marine.

“I always loved a man in uniform,” Lanphere said.

Lanphere has been a Chautauqua County resident throughout her life, as a resident of Fredonia, Brocton, and now, Portland. Her daughter, Lisa Waldron, is the Highway Superintendent for the town of Arkwright.

Now as President, however, Lanphere won’t be home as often as she was before. Lanphere will frequently visit Washington, D.C., for national functions, along with trips scheduled to meet with other organizations across the nation to further the causes the AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary supports.

“It’s such an honor to be President anyway,” Lanphere said. But to earn the title so shortly after her husband’s death, the honor meant even more.

Lanphere began her involvement with the Women’s Auxiliary in 1997 with local chapters in Jamestown. She belonged to AMVETS Post 1996, then Auxiliary Post 726. Lanphere had been volunteering to raise money for organizations dealing with children’s diseases, and when she wanted to make a difference in other ways, she turned to AMVETS because of her husband’s involvement as a veteran and her respect for the military.

Over the next several years, she began her climb up the ladder, from an officer at the local level to a statewide officer, then eventually as President of the statewide department in 2007-08.

From there, Lanphere moved on to the role of Chaplain at the national level, then Americanism Officer. She climbed the ranks further through all three Vice President seats until finally rising to President in August. She now takes the place of Cindy Rice, of Vermillion, Ohio, as National President.

Lanphere’s focus as President is aimed at supporting veterans, but she also encourages community service through volunteering and supporting first responders. She is also a strong supporter of Blue Star Families.

“We wouldn’t be here without our veterans. We wouldn’t have the freedoms we have without our veterans, and I want to do what I can to help those families,” Lanphere said.

Lanphere’s main project as National President will be collaboration with the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a nonprofit organization fighting veteran homelessness. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation provides mortgage-free homes to families of fallen military members and first responders, as well as specially-adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. The organization was founded in honor of Stephen Gerard Siller, a firefighter who lost his life while saving others at the terrorist attacks on 9/11.

ABOUT AMVETS AUXILIARY

Membership in AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary is open to the mothers, wives, widows, grandmothers, sisters, daughters and granddaughters of AMVETS. Membership is also open to female veterans who are currently serving or who have honorably served in the Armed Forces of the United States, including the National Guard and Reserve components, at any point after Sept. 15, 1940.

Lanphere served as First Vice President this past year with the AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary, a role focused on membership. Of the 10 elected officers of the AMVETS National Ladies Auxiliary, other roles include Second Vice President, Third Vice President, Treasurer, Chaplain, Sergeant-At-Arms, Americanism Officer, Scholarship Officer, and Hospital Officer. In addition to a focus on membership, Vice Presidents are directed to oversee child welfare and community service.

“They work hard. They are a wonderful organization,” Lanphere said.

AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary members across the country provide support for local volunteers, as volunteering is considered “the heart of AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary.” An extensive awards program recognizes volunteers at the department and national levels.

Among the programs supported by the AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary include St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital; the John Tracy Clinic for hearing-impaired and deaf children; PAWS With a Cause, a group that trains assistance dogs for people with disabilities; Freedoms Foundation; Veterans Affairs Volunteer Services programs; and various scholarships.

The AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary also keeps “a watchful eye on all Capitol Hill” regarding all legislation pertaining to veterans services. Veteran’s health care, POW/MIA accountability, services for homeless veterans, national defense and foreign relations are all defined as “issues of importance” to AMVETS Ladies Auxiliary and AMVETS as a whole.

Lanphere has already been hard at work, and her schedule does not get any lighter in the coming weeks. Whenever she is able to spend a calm and peaceful night at home, she will be able to return to her nightly routine of watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune with her husband. But from now on, Jim will be resting by her side in an urn, while she proudly carries the title he always believed she deserved.

For more information about the AMVETS National Ladies Auxiliary, contact its headquarters at (301) 459-6255.