Lola Perpich, champion of the arts and 'calming force' as Minnesota's First Lady, dies at 94

Decades before becoming the governor of Minnesota, Rudy Perpich spotted a beguiling young woman behind the counter at Chappel's Malt Shop in Keewatin, Minn., and was instantly smitten. After their first date, he declared: "That's the woman I'm going to marry."

And so it went — Perpich later married Delores Helen Simich, who was known as Lola, in 1954, creating one of the most enduring political partnerships in modern Minnesota politics. So much so that Perpich insisted that his wife be included in his official portrait at the State Capitol, a first that caused a ruckus at the time.

"They were true partners; she was his biggest supporter," said their son, Rudy Perpich Jr., of Minnetonka.

Lola Perpich, 94, died on May 6.

Born in Keewatin, Lola Perpich was the youngest of six children born to Croatian immigrants, John and Ann Simich. It was a heritage she shared with her husband.

Her ties to the Iron Range helped her — and by extension, her husband — "connect with average Minnesotans," said Ben Schierer, author of a newly released book about Rudy Perpich written with former Minnesota Star Tribune editorial writer Lori Sturdevant. "They were very humble; they never lost sight of where they came from."

She enthusiastically backed her husband's budding political career, first as a school board member in Hibbing, then as a DFL state senator, lieutenant governor and ultimately the state's longest-serving governor.

When Perpich ran for statewide office, he couldn't afford to leave his day job as a dentist in Hibbing, so Lola drove him to various campaign events across the state.

"Then she'd drive back to Hibbing and he'd sleep in the car," their son recalled. "They'd start all over the next day."

Lola Perpich was regarded as a reliable sounding board for her husband — a calming force that tempered his often-colorful behavior.

She rarely ventured into the political spotlight, but when she did, it proved memorable. Of her husband's Republican rival Al Quie, a devout Lutheran, she wrote that "he carries a Bible in one hand and a bucket of mud in the other" in a letter to the Duluth News Tribune.

Lola Perpich was said to be the first political spouse in the nation to appear in campaign commercials during the bruising 1990 gubernatorial campaign, which her husband lost to Republican Arne Carlson.The reviews were solid: "She projects a calmness and steadiness," a Star Tribune scribe wrote.

As first lady, she made renovations of the governor's residence in St. Paul a cornerstone of her tenure, opening the house to the public and working with the Minnesota Historical Society to ensure the home's decor was historically accurate. In 1990, she hosted a luncheon for Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and his wife, Raisa, at the residence.

To help pay for the improvements, Perpich wrote a cookbook in 1985 called "Wild Rice, Star of the North: 150 Minnesota Recipes for a Gourmet Grain." At home, she was known for her sarma, a Croatian dish of stuffed cabbage rolls served at Thanksgiving.

But it was Perpich's support of the arts and arts education that truly defined her public life.

The Perpich Center for Arts Education, a state agency funded by the Legislature, includes a tuition-free, public high school in Golden Valley for students with artistic promise, along with professional development staff to craft arts curriculum and programming at schools throughout the state.

"She had a vision of a place that supported the arts statewide," said Allegra Smisek,the center's executive director. "We always say Rudy was the founding father, but she was our founding mother. She led the way." Fittingly, the student newspaper at the Perpich Center is called the "Lola Times."

Current First Lady Gwen Walz wrote on X that Perpich "was a dynamic champion of education and the arts, and her legacy will be felt in Minnesota for years to come."

Daughter Mary Sue Perpich said her most poignant memory of her parents came when her father was dying in 1995. "He whispered in my ear that he wanted us to write a book on the love story between Lola and Rudy," she said. "He wanted the love they shared to be immortalized."

"He believed his true legacy was their unwavering commitment to each other, to our family and to the beloved people of the state of Minnesota," she said.

In addition to her son and daughter, Perpich is survived by a granddaughter. Services have been held.