Honey Alexander, longtime wife of Sen. Lamar Alexander, has died
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Leslee "Honey" Buhler Alexander, the wife of former Tennessee governor and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, has died.
Honey, 77, was long the backbone and political will behind Tennessee’s most accomplished son. A statement from the family confirmed her peaceful death Sunday morning.
“Our dear ‘Honey’ was funny, loving, always caring, unselfish and courageous. We are so fortunate to have spent our lives with her. We will miss her every day,” the statement said.
Daughter of a Texas Republican committeewoman, Honey spent her early life in and around politics. She never left.
A natural athlete, Honey met Lamar playing staff co-ed softball in Washington, D.C. Lamar played for Sen. Howard Baker’s team, Honey for Sen. John G. Tower, Republican from Texas. Honey, Alexander wrote in his gubernatorial memoir, “Steps Along the Way,” slid into first, forever catching his attention, a charge she denied.
Regardless, he was struck.
“After seeing Honey for the first time, I began to play softball the way a peacock struts through the farmyard,” he said.
Some 18 months later, in 1969, they married in Texas.
She would become, advisor and spokesperson Keel Hunt said, “truly a partner with Lamar over the entirety of his political career.”
Honey doubted her husband could win the 1978 gubernatorial election and she had good reason since Lamar had lost four years earlier. But when she got on board the rest is history. Lamar would later credit Honey for much of his turnaround and his profound walk across the state that caught the state’s attention.
Lamar’s inauguration came days earlier than anticipated amid a political scandal where Gov. Ray Blanton was pardoning prisoners for bribes. In the craziness of the ceremony, Honey famously said it had a “feeling more like a funeral than a party.”
At that inauguration the Alexanders had three children — Drew, Leslee and Kathryn. Honey likened raising a family in people’s house to living in a fishbowl.
Yet Honey took this experience and focused her time as first lady on policy issues for expectant mothers and newborns in what became known as the Healthy Children Initiative.
The initiative, which continued after the Alexander’s eight years in office, focused on providing resources through county health departments where every child would have a medical home and would help provide prenatal care and education on prevention of teenage pregnancies to families across the state, particularly those in rural and urban, inner-city areas.
After the governor’s mansion, Honey, along with Marguerite Sallee and others, founded the Corporate Child Care Inc. In 1997 it merged with Bright Horizons, becoming what it claims is the world’s largest provider of worksite day care.
Honey was a political force but loving, longtime friends say, and she followed Lamar through his many forays:
Lamar’s failed run for governor in 1974
Eight years in the governor’s mansion from 1978-87
Six months to Australia for a reset
A short time in Knoxville where Lamar was president of the University of Tennessee system from 1988-91
To Washington, D.C. where Lamar was U.S. Secretary of Education for President George H.W. Bush from 1991-93
Two failed runs for president, first in 1996 and then in 2000
And finally, 18 years in the U.S. Senate, winning three terms (2002, 2008 and 2014)
Honey helped found the Leadership Nashville organization and was a major advocate of Nashville’s nonprofit Family and Children’s Services. The latter named their new headquarters the Honey Alexander Center after her contributions and family donations.
Honey Alexander is survived by her husband of 53 years; three children, Leslee Alexander of Maryville; Kathryn Alexander of Briarcliff Manor, New York; and Will Alexander, of Nashville; nine grandchildren; her brothers Frank Buhler, Jr. and Bruce Buhler; and her sisters Blanche Carter and Jessica Weiland.
Their son Drew died in late 2021 at age 52.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Honey Alexander, longtime wife of Sen. Lamar Alexander, has died
