Name: Emma Drury Rollins
Party: Republican
Date of Birth: April 26, 1937
Place of Residence: Abilene, Texas

Biography

Emma Drury was born to Henry, a failed farmer during the Depression, and Rossalyn, a homemaker in Lubbock, Texas. During the agricultural crisis of the 20s and 30s, Henry saw his family farm take a nose dive financially until he finally lost it altogether. He and his wife moved into Lubbock proper from the farm and despite the immense pool of job applicants, was lucky to find work as a custodian and maintenance worker at the relatively new Texas Technical College. After Emma was born in 1937, Rossalyn began working odd jobs either out of her home or in the home's of other women where she could take her daughter with her. They made ends meet, but times were just as tough for them as anybody else.

At the outbreak of World War II and the opening of army training bases near Lubbock, Rossalyn took full time work - thanks to an increase in jobs to accomodate the training soldiers - as a kitchen worker at the base. Henry's mother cared for Emma during the day while both of her parents worked.

Although Emma was a steady student in high school, college wasn't in the cards. It was growing more common for women to go to school, but she had neither the desire or financial wherewithal to make that decision. Instead, shortly after graduation, she married her high school sweetheart after he returned to Lubbock after a two-year stint in the US Navy.

Even though he was not eligible for GI Benefits, not having served in the Korean War a few years earlier, Ethan used savings from his army pay and assistance from his parents to enroll in Texas Technical College where he graduated in 1959 with a degree in finance. He quickly found work as a civilian working with a defense contractor doing business at Dyess Airforce Base in Abilene, where the family moved. Though Ethan was making a reasonable salary, the couple decided that Emma should go to work as well to help save money for the future. She worked briefly as a flight attendant on Trans-Texas Airways, but moved on quickly to food service at a busy Abiline restaurant where she rose quickly to become the manager of the wait staff.

With the upper management of the bars and restaurants in Abilene mostly dominated by men, she failed to move up any further - which turned out okay when she and Ethan started their family in 1964. She left work upon discovering that she was pregnant with her first son, Ethan Jr and quickly followed the next year with her daughter Diana. In 1972, she had her last son, Isaac, at the age of 35.

In 1975, having saved quite a bit of money and made some smart investments, Ethan and Emma invested with some friends in Abilene in a small, casual fine-dining restaurant attached to a small hotel near downtown that catered to the travelling business community. The restaurant did extremely well and, in 1978, the couple purchased it outright from their co-investors. Emma oversaw the day-to-day operations from that point forward, having gotten her feet wet the previous three, while Ethan continued his full time work with the defense contractor.

She became active in the Abilene business community, eventually rising to serve as Chairman of Abilene Chamber of Commerce for a term in 1984. The couple continued to invest in other businesses in the area, but only as investing partners. In 1986, after completing her term as Chair of the Chamber, Emma turned to politics and won the Republican nomination for the local State Senate race. Democrats outnumbered Republicans in the area, but the demographics were changing quickly in Texas and she managed to defeat the weak Democrat to serve in the State Senate.

She continued to manage the restaurant while serving in the part-time Texas Legislature where she became part of a growing Republican caucus committed to keeping taxes low, limiting regulation, and protecting states' rights. As a moderately pro-choice woman, she did find herself a target at times on that subject where most Democrats and Republicans in her State Senate district were pro-life.

In 1992, the changing trend of her district led her to seek the Republican nomination for the 17th Congressional District against a long entrenched conservative Democrat. She won a split Republican nomination and runoff, then waged a bitter general election against the Democrat - tying him to the liberal majority in the House of Representatives, despite his conservative agricultural credentials. Though a decided underdog, Emma rallied her Abilene business contacts for solid fundraising and squeaked out a narrow victory over her opponent. Upon her victory, Emma has pledged to fight to keep the scope of government small, protect small businesses, fight for Texas agriculture (despite her fiscal conservatism), and continue to cut taxes.

Ethan and Emma attend the First United Methodist Church of Abilene and have passed off day-to-day operation of their restaurant to their staff, though Ethan still oversees operations.. Ethan retired from the defense contracting firm he worked for and manages the family's investments full time, constantly looking for new projects that can turn a profit. Ethan Jr. is married with three children, Diana is married with two, and Isaac is engaged to be married to his college girlfriend.