Death of Nancy Worley

I regret to inform you that Nancy Worley, Chair of the Alabama Democratic Party, passed this morning at 10:38 a.m. at Baptist South Medical Center in Montgomery. A teacher by profession, she was Chair of the Alabama Democratic Party, former Secretary of State of Alabama, former President of the Alabama Education Association (AEA), and numerous other organizations pursuing fairness, justice and Equality.

I was privileged to work with Nancy Worley professionally through the AEA. She served as President, and I served as Associate Executive Secretary. She believed in the teachers, support professionals; she supported Paul Hubbert and me and all our struggles to make things better for members of Alabama Education Association. She served as Secretary of State and made all of us proud. She became Chair of the Alabama Democratic Party. As chair of the party, she fought for equity, and insisted that Blacks in the Democratic Party be afforded and supported for their loyalty in keeping the Democratic Party alive in Alabama.

I worked with many chairs of the Democratic Party, probably more than most folks. There was no Chair more dedicated to fairness than Nancy Worley. She fought for women’s rights and fought for honesty. She was a true believer in the precepts and principles of the Democratic Party. She did not just give lip service, she worked night and day, free of charge, day in and day out when the party was “broke” financially. All of us who knew her and worked with her in and out of the Democratic Party and Alabama Education Association have lost a true friend, and a public servant extraordinaire. We all must thank God for sending her to us at such an important time in our history. She will be missed.

Joe L. Reed
Vice Chair for Minority Affairs, Alabama Democratic Party
Chair, Alabama Democratic Conference