Minnette Doderer

Doderer was born on May 16, 1923, in Holland, Iowa. Her parents were John A. Frerichs and Sophie Frerichs (née Sherfield).^[2][3] The family moved to Waterloo, Iowa, where Doderer attended East High School, graduating in 1941. She studied at Iowa State Teachers College and received a bachelor's of arts degree in economics from the University of Iowa in 1948. She married Fred H. Doderer, who would later become the mayor of Iowa City, in 1944 and the couple had two children: Dennis and Kay Lynn.^[3]

Doderer first became involved in Democratic politics during the 1950s, when she served as the vice-chair of the Johnson County Democratic Central Committee between 1953 and 1958. She was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives in a 1964 special election and served as a representative until 1968, including as house minority whip from 1967 to 1968. She was elected to the Iowa Senate between 1968 and 1978, serving as the first female president pro tempore of the senate from 1975 to 1076. She was re-elected to the House in 1981, a position that she held until she retired in 2000.^[3]

She died of colon cancer on August 12, 2005, in Iowa City, Iowa at age 82.^[4][5]