Obituaries: Lula Wardlow, 1970, Winn Parish, LA. Submitted by Greggory E. Davies, 120 Ted Price Lane, Winnfield, LA 71483 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** From: August 20, 1970 Winn Parish Enterprise News-American Mrs. Wardlow, First Woman Mayor In Louisiana, Dies In Austin, Texas Mrs. Lula Wardlow, 94, of Montgomery who was an ordained minister and also the first woman mayor in Louisiana, died at 9:45 p.m. Sunday, August 16, 1970 in Austin, Texas. Mrs. Wardlow became a preacher in the Methodist Protestant Conference in 1909, at the age of 33. At that time it was the only Methodist religious organization that would accept woman preachers. Later, in 1939, when the Methodist Protestants united with the Northern and Southern Methodist Conference, she became an ordained minister in what is today the Louisiana Methodist Conference. She pastored churches in Montgomery, Dry Prong, and Colfax. She also pastored a number of Winn Parish churches over the years. In 1926 she was elected mayor of the town of Montgomery, and in 1928 was reelected without opposition. She resigned in 1930 to devote more time to her family and the ministry, but remained active in politics until her death. After retiring from the ministry at the age of 76, she went to Cuba as a missionary and traveled from village to village, sometimes climbing mountains to reach the people. Mrs. Wardlow is survived by her husband, F. G. Wardlow of Montgomery; one son, W. B. Wardlow of Austin, Texas; and one sister, Mrs. W. P. Williams of Montgomery. Funeral services were held at 3 p.m. Wednesday in the United Methodist Church in Montgomery with burial at Mt. Zion Cemetery.