Nena J. Croake

FIRST STATE REPRESENTATIVE 1913-1915

Fighting for women’s voting rights with Emma Smith DeVoe in 1909 and 1910, Croake served as an Auditor and a Vice President of the Washington Equal Suffrage Association.
Elected as a Progressive, Croake urged women to run for office. “It is only just and fair that (they) should be given a trial,” she declared.
The lawmaker advocated pensions for abandoned mothers on the campaign trail, and pushed for women’s minimum wage.
Croake, a force in the field of medicine as a Doctor of Osteopathy, is believed to be one of Tacoma’s first female physicians.

"Consideration for women is a measure of the nation’s progress."