Gale Thomson

Gale Thomson
First Lady of New Hampshire
In role January 4, 1973 – January 4, 1979
Governor	Meldrim Thomson, Jr.
Preceded by	Dorothy Peterson
Succeeded by	Irene Gallen
Personal details
Born	1919 Brooklyn, New York
Died	March 8, 2010 Orford, New Hampshire
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Meldrim Thomson, Jr.
Children	6

Anne Gale Kelly Thomson (1919 – March 8, 2010) was an American public and political figure, anti-tax activist, businesswoman, and benefactor. Thomson served as the First Lady of New Hampshire from 1973 until 1979 during the tenure of former Governor Meldrim Thomson, Jr.

Thomson was born Anne Gale Kelly in Brooklyn, New York, in 1919. She was the oldest child of parents William and Anne Kelly. She graduated from high school two years early and took a position with the Edward Thompson Law Book Company, a law publishing company in Brooklyn.

Kelly met her future husband, Meldrim Thomson, Jr., while she was working as a secretary at the Edward Thompson Law Book Company. The couple married in 1938 and had six children during their marriage - Peter, David, Thomas, Marion, Janet, and Robb. The family initially resided in Brooklyn and Stony Brook, New York.

In 1954, Thomson and her husband decided not to raise their family in New York City. They moved with their six children to the Mt. Cube Farm, a 19th-century farmhouse in Orford, New Hampshire, in the fall of 1954, where Thomson and her husband lived for the rest of her life. As Mel Thomson's book editing company, Equity Publishing, grew, Gale Thomson largely ran the day-to-day operations of the farm and family.

Thomson became the First Lady of New Hampshire in 1973 when her husband took office. She was known to entertain guests with pancakes served with maple syrup collected at her Mt. Cube Farm in Orford. Gale Thomson (and her husband) used the breakfasts as a way to network and lobby legislators and businesspeople on behalf of her husband's political goals. She notably lobbied Greek magnate Aristotle Onassis, who had announced plans to construct an oil refinery in New Hampshire, reportedly winning him over with a bottle of Blue Nun, an inexpensive wine.

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