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Westchester BOL mourns loss of former chairwoman

The Westchester County Board of Legislators’ first female and African-American chairperson, Lois Bronz, passed away last week.

Bronz was 90 at the time of her death on Feb. 12.

The Westchester County Board of Legislators’ first female and African-American chairperson, Lois Bronz, right, passed away on Feb. 12. She was 90. Photo courtesy Westchester County Legislature

“We are extremely saddened to hear of the passing of former chairwoman of the Board [of Legislators] Lois Bronz,” said current board Chairman Ben Boykin, a White Plains Democrat, in a released statement. “Lois was a dear friend and colleague who was a trailblazer at the [BOL].”

Bronz was elected to the board in 1994, after serving 16 years on the Greenburgh town board. In 2002, she was nominated as the BOL’s chairperson, becoming both the first woman and African-American to serve in that capacity. Bronz served on the board until 2009.

County Legislator MaryJane Shimsky, a Hastings-on-Hudson Democrat, said Bronz’s “graciousness” made an impression on her because she always wanted “to include everyone at the great table of government” and was a “great spiritual force for good in our community and in our world.”

Bronz was involved in a number of civic groups, including the Westchester Community Opportunity Program, the Children’s Village Board in Dobbs Ferry, the Westchester Coalition and United Way of Westchester. Originally from New Orleans, she was an educator for 32 years and a mother of three children, who are all adults.