To those who knew Augusta Petrone — and very few involved in Republican politics in New Hampshire or the modern conservative movement did not — it was no surprise that instructions on her death were that in lieu of flowers or charitable donations, mourners were to donate “at some level to their favorite political party.”
Conversely, it was no surprise to her wide circle of friends that mourners at her funeral included New Hampshire’s Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte and her Republican predecessor, Chris Sununu — or that a note of condolences from former liberal Democrat Gov. John Lynch was read.
“What a wonderful woman!” wrote Lynch, whose opponents Petrone had canvassed for and contributed to. “From touring the winery, which she started in her backyard, seeing her beautiful home, and appreciating the contributions she made to us and to the Bridges House. She and her husband, Joseph, made a positive difference in our lives and to the people of New Hampshire. She will be missed.”
Petrone, who died Aug. 1 at age 88, did it all when it came to politics. From hosting presidential candidates or fundraising dinners at her spacious home in bucolic Dublin, New Hampshire, to receptions in Washington, D.C., during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, to walking door to door on behalf of scores of Republican candidates, the lady everyone called “Augusta” and never “Mrs. Petrone” was a presence.
A graduate of Smith College and the Sorbonne in Paris, one who lived with diplomat husband Joseph Petrone in Paris and Geneva (where Joseph Petrone was President Ronald Reagan’s ambassador to UNESCO), Augusta Petrone treated everyone with dignity and respect.
Kate Day, a former GOP chair of Cheshire County, told the New Hampshire Journal that a garage door repairman once came to the Petrones’ home and they inquired about his life. He mentioned his military service and rolled up his sleeve to show a tattoo. The Petrones promptly invited him in for coffee, then lunch, and then afternoon tea.
“He told me he never made it to the garage door and had to come back to do the repair the next day,” Day recalled.
Joseph. Just about any conversation with Augusta Petrone in her twilight years mentioned the handsome U.S. Army officer to whom she was married for, in her words, “58 glorious years.” They went wherever Joseph Petrone was stationed — as White House military aide under President Dwight D. Eisenhower and as a military atache at the U.S. Embassy in Paris. She always called him “Joseph” and he addressed her as “Gussie.”
Following Joseph Petrone’s retirement from the military in 1970, the couple settled in Marshalltown, Iowa, and later made their home in Dublin, New Hampshire. Friends teased the Petrones that they chose the sites of the Iowa caucuses and the first-in-the-nation primary to get involved with candidates from the start.
And they did. In 1974, the Petrones walked precincts for first-time U.S. House hopeful Chuck Grassley, and he won the 3rd District seat with 1% of the vote to spare. (Now president pro tempore of the Senate and 91 years old, Grassley sent a note of condolence to Augusta Petrone’s funeral, as did former Vice President Mike Pence.)
Two years later, the Petrones were Ronald Reagan backers at the first-ever Iowa caucuses. They continued their quadrennial activities in the New Hampshire primaries. In 2008, with their first choice candidate, Rudy Giuliani, out of the running, the couple were content to sit back and guide reporters to local sources.
“I spent a wonderful day with Augusta and her beloved Joseph in Peterborough [N.H.] when I was covering the Republican presidential primary in 2008,” BBC World News correspondent James Coomarasamy told us. “She gave this foreign correspondent some great insights into the politics of the Granite State and we shared reminiscences of Paris, a city where we had both lived.”
Augusta Petrone was devastated by Joseph Petrone’s death in 2016 at age 93. But she carried on. She donated and raised major dollars for the Lionheart Classical Academy and freely mixed with students who nicknamed her “Madame Sparkle” because of her vibrant personality. She also vigorously supported the Park Theatre, Raylynmor Opera, Monadnock Music, and Apple Hill — all cultural institutions in her part of New Hampshire.
At about the same time, her endorsement of Donald Trump for president made the Wall Street Journal.
“Augusta was the first lady of Republican politics in New Hampshire and will be sorely missed,” former New Hampshire State GOP Chairman Chris Ager told Newsmax. “She was always upbeat and cheerful while never backing down from political dialogue. To put it simply, Augusta Petrone was the most wonderful and inspiring person I have ever known.”
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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