Decades before becoming governor of Minnesota, Rudy Perpich saw 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 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 stir at the time.
“They were true partners; she was his biggest supporter,” said their son, Rudy Perpich Jr., of Minnetonka.
Lola Perpich died earlier this month at the age of 94.
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 campaign events across the state.