C. Bedell, 90; First Female in Congress From Washington

Catherine Dean May Bedell, 90, the first woman elected to Congress from Washington state, died Friday in Rancho Mirage, Calif., relatives said. The cause of death was not announced.

Bedell, a Republican, was elected to the House in 1958 and served six terms before losing to Democrat Mike McCormack in 1970. She was known as Catherine Dean May at the time; she later married Donald W. Bedell.

She was one of the few women elected to national office at the time without first being appointed to replace their husbands.

She never promoted herself as a women’s rights activist but supported the Equal Rights Amendment and worked to include a prohibition against discrimination based on gender in the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Before she was nominated for Congress, she served in the state House in Washington for six years and also had a career in broadcasting, including a stint at NBC in New York.

Born in Yakima, Wash., Bedell earned a bachelor of science degree at the University of Washington and taught high school English for three years. She then studied speech at USC.