{{Short description|American politician (born 1946)}} {{Infobox officeholder |name = Lola Spradley |image = Lola Spradley.JPG |image_size = 225px |order = 53rd |office = Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives |term_start = January 8, 2003 |term_end = January 12, 2005 |predecessor = Doug Dean |successor = Andrew Romanoff |office1 = Majority Leader of the Colorado House of Representatives |term_start1 = January 10, 2001 |term_end1 = January 8, 2003 |predecessor1 = Doug Dean |successor1 = Keith King |state_house2 = Colorado |district2 = 60th |term_start2 = January 8, 2003 |term_end2 = January 12, 2005 |predecessor2 = Jim Snook |successor2 = Tom Massey |state_house3 = Colorado |district3 = 44th |term_start3 = September 5, 1997 |term_end3 = January 8, 2003 |predecessor3 = Larry Schwarz |successor3 = Mike May |birth_date = {{birth date and age|1946|6|28}} |birth_place = Burlington, Colorado, U.S. |death_date = |death_place = |party = Republican |education = Regis University (BS) }} '''Lola Spradley''' (born June 28, 1946)<ref name="book">{{cite book |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Presidents and speakers of the Colorado General Assembly: A biographical portrait from 1876 |url=https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/presidents_and_speakers.pdf |edition= Revised|location=Denver, Colorado |publisher=Colorado Legislative Council |page=124 |date=2013 }}</ref> is an American politician from Colorado. She served as Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives from 2003 to 2005, the first woman elected to the position.<ref name="book" />
==Early life== Born Lola Fox in Burlington, Colorado, she was brought up along with her six brothers and sisters on a farm near Raymer, Colorado. She graduated from Fort Morgan High School in 1964 and then had a 29-year career with AT&T, starting as an operator and retiring as an assistant vice president.<ref name="World Journal">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Meet Lola Spradley |url=https://huerfanoworldjournal.com/meet-lola-spradley/ |work=Huerfano World Journal |date=2014-11-26 |access-date=2018-09-17}}</ref>
==Colorado House of Representatives career== In September 1997, a vacancy committee appointed Spradley, who then resided in Beulah, to represent House District 44 (Custer, Fremont, Pueblo, and Teller counties) in the Colorado House of Representatives following the resignation of Larry Schwarz.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.legispeak.com/legislator/rep/spradley |title= Rep. Lola Spradley |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=2015 |website=Legispeak }}</ref> She was later elected to represent the district in 1998 and re-elected in 2000. Following reapportionment in 2002, she was elected to represent House District 60.
During her time in the Colorado House of Representatives, Spradley, a Republican, held three leadership positions: Assistant Majority Leader, Majority Leader, and Speaker. She also served on the Executive Committee of Legislative Council and on the Legislative Council itself.<ref name="book" />
==Life after the Colorado State House== After serving in the House of Representatives, Spradley and her husband retired to Huerfano County. She volunteers on boards and commissions, such as the Huerfano County Historical Society board<ref name="World Journal" /> and the 3rd Judicial District Performance Commission, to which she was appointed by the governor.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|date=2018-01-18 |title=Governor picks Spradley, Vezzani|url=https://www.chieftain.com/news/governor-picks-spradley-vezzani/article_1dee5928-fcc8-11e7-96f5-c77624f07da1.html|work=The Pueblo Chieftain |access-date=2018-09-18}}</ref> She also serves on the Huerfano County Economic Development Board of Directors,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/walsenburg/huerfano-county-economic-development-incorporated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921191133/https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/walsenburg/huerfano-county-economic-development-incorporated |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 21, 2018 |title=Huerfano County Economic Development Incorporated, Current Board Members |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Colorado Official State Web Portal |publisher=State of Colorado |access-date=2018-09-21 |quote=co-President Lola Spradley.}}</ref> and in 2018 Spradley was elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Huerfano County Hospital District,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sprhc.org/board.html |title=Huerfano County Hospital District — Board Of Directors |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Spanish Peaks Regional Health Center |access-date=2018-09-21 |quote=Lola Spradley, Treasurer, Elected Term: May 2018—May 2022.}}</ref> which operates the Spanish Peaks Regional Health Center west of Walsenburg.
==See also== *List of female speakers of legislatures in the United States
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spradley, Lola}} Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:Regis University alumni Category:Women state legislators in Colorado Category:20th-century Colorado politicians Category:20th-century American women politicians Category:21st-century members of the Colorado General Assembly Category:21st-century American women politicians Category:Speakers of the Colorado House of Representatives Category:Republican Party members of the Colorado House of Representatives Category:Women legislative speakers