Jean B. Cryor (1938-2009)
MSA SC 3520-12204

Extended Biography:

On December 3, 1938, Jean B. Cryor, a woman “of great honesty and great courage” was born in Darby, Pennsylvania. ¹ She dedicated her life to championing significant causes, such as appropriate funding for education and women’s rights, in order to see the betterment of not only Montgomery County, but Maryland as a whole.²   

Ms. Cryor grew up in Pennsylvania, where she attended the University of Pennsylvania and met Daniel Cryor, a broadcast reporter,³ whom she married in 1959.⁴ Ms. Cryor began a career in the media in the 1970’s by working for the Philadelphia Bulletin as a reporter.  Following this, she worked at the News Election Service, a media consortium for election data which was based in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Ms. Cryor and her husband moved to Maryland at this time due to a promotion at his work. In Maryland, she maintained her career at the News Election Service and earned a MBA from Loyola College of Maryland in 1979.⁵ During this time Ms. Cryor and her husband had three daughters, Allison, Jennifer, and Deirde.⁶

At the age of 39, Ms. Cryor faced a life-changing event when her husband passed away suddenly. As a widow and a single mother of three, Ms. Cryor quit her job at the News Election Service because its travel requirements would not allow her to properly care for her daughters. While such a circumstance might cripple some, Ms. Cryor persevered and found a full-time editor/publisher position at the Gazette Newspapers in 1987 which allowed her to both work and remain close to her family. When remembering the situation, she recalled that “all of a sudden, I had no job, no husband, and nothing ahead of me…but what I remember is not the panic, but this feeling of absolute strength coming into me.”⁷

Ms. Cryor continued to work for the Gazette Newspapers until 1993. During this career, she started the Potomac Gazette, the Bethesda Gazette, and the Chevy Chase Gazette.⁸  In recognition of her work, she was named the vice president of all Gazette Newspapers. James F. Mannarino, the president and publisher of the Gazette, noted that “she was responsible for making our paper strong.”⁹     

While her career in the media was remarkable, Mr. Cryor became a true champion of improvement in Montgomery County and Maryland when, after one unsuccessful attempt, she was elected to represent District 15 in the Maryland House of Delegates in 1994;¹⁰she served three terms, from 1995-2007.¹¹ At the time of her election, and for the majority of her career in the House of Delegates, Ms. Cryor was the lone Republican delegate from Montgomery County.¹² However, she was well respected and popular among both parties as she became known for her independence and commitment to the community.¹³ It was obvious that Ms. Cryor cared deeply about her role and her community, as she would respond personally to every constituent that wrote her.¹⁴

Ms. Cryor’s main areas of concern were school funding, the earned income tax credit for low income workers, and women’s rights.¹⁵ Additionally, she spent much of her time fighting to protect the Potomac River and striving to “bring Maryland to a higher standard through educational opportunities.”¹⁶ Further, she cared deeply for those she considered to be vulnerable, namely the elderly and the disabled.¹⁷

Ms. Cryor served on numerous committees while in the House of Delegates, she was a ranking member on the Ways and Means Committee and its tax & revenue, education, transportation, finance resources, vice-chair’s, and election law subcommittees, as well as the Conference Committee on taxes, the Joint Committee on Community College Funding, the Rules and Executive Nominations Committee, the Legislative Policy Committee, and the County Affairs Committee, Montgomery County Delegation.¹⁸

Additionally, she served on many commissions, such as the Task Force on Education Funding Equity, Accountability, and Partnerships, the Commission on Education Finance, Equity, Excellence, the Task Force to Study College Readiness for Disadvantaged and Capable Students, the Commission on Maryland’s Fiscal Structure, the Transportation Task Force, the Virginia-Maryland-District of Columbia Joint Legislative Commission on Interstate Transportation, the Task Force on Missing Vulnerable Adults, the Governor’s Commission on Quality Education in Maryland, and Maryland’s Thornton Education Commission.¹⁹

Even further, Ms. Cryor served on boards for organizations such as the Black Rock Arts Center, The Jewish Foundation for Group Homes, the Convent of the Sacred Heart School at Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and the Potomac Theater Company. She was on the Executive Board of the Women Legislators of Maryland (at the time the oldest and largest women’s caucus in the country) and later became its first Republican president.²⁰

Landmark accomplishments in her career at the House of Delegates include being the original author of the Potomac River Protection Act, writing the State Buildings-Pictures of Abducted Children legislation (the first of its kind in America),²¹ leading a guerilla campaign against Governor Parris Glendenning’s plan to finance football stadiums in Baltimore (she and the community thought the funding could be better spent elsewhere),²² writing a bill in support of allowing students in Maryland to carry cell phones while at school in case of emergency without threat of suspension,²³ and reforming state education funding to include all-day kindergarten and pre-kindergarten programs for children born in poverty.²⁴ Further, Ms. Cryor was an original and main driving force behind the creation of a tax-free week in August to lessen the financial burden on families as they prepare for a new school year.²⁵ This tax-free week continues in Maryland to this day.

Finally, one action that testifies as an example of Ms. Cryor’s strength and passion is when, in 2005, she was the only Republican legislator to stand up against Governor Robert Ehrlich’s veto of a bill to create a Pay Equity Commission, which would analyze gender-based wage gaps and try to find remedies. This action was “a big political risk… but she thought it was the right thing to do. The override ended up being successful.”²⁶   

Ms. Cryor has been the recipient of an abundance of awards and honors. Some of them include being named the Citizen of the Year by Almanac Newspapers, the Legislator of the Year by the Maryland Retailers Association,²⁷ the 2002 Businessperson of the Year,²⁸ and being listed as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women in 2003 by The Daily Record.²⁹ She has been awarded the Women of Achievement Award by the Suburban Business and Professional Women Association,³⁰ a Lifetime Service Award from the Potomac Chamber of Commerce, the Thornton Commission Award,³¹ the 2002 Childhood Brain Tumor Foundation Award, and the Daughters of the American Revolution Conservation Award.³²

Ms. Cryor lost her seat in the House of Delegates in 2006, which many believe was attributed to a “Democratic Wave” that caused numerous Republicans to lose their seats.³³ She was not deterred, and instead stated that she would “find another role for her skills.” Indeed, she continued to stay active and was a prominent member of the Maryland State Commission for Women and a Commissioner of the Montgomery County Planning Board until her death.³⁴

On November 3, 2007, Ms. Cryor passed away from cancer at age seventy. She was a woman who was one-of a kind, and her absence continues to be “deeply felt in many ways and in many communities.”³⁵ In addition, it is well recognized that “we are the better for her commitment; and we celebrate her accomplishments and service to our Country.”³⁶ Ms. Cryor “was a courageous and ethical leader whose vision of the world was characterized by a love of humankind.”³⁷ Her place in the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame is more than deserved as she touched the lives of everyone she came into contact with. Her actions continue to have positive effects on Montgomery County and Maryland today as her three daughters continue to carry on her positive demeanor and ideas about the importance of community.     

 
Quotes

“And what would she say about being nominated into the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame? With all humility she would say that if there is room for her, then there is a place for every woman.” 
^{-Sharon M. Grodfield 38}

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel…Jean Cryor made people feel good about themselves.”
-Nancy Floreen³⁹  

“She always said that her proudest accomplishment was shepherding her three daughters and three grandchildren in reaching their potential and giving back to the community.”
^{-The Montgomery County Commission for Women 40}

“She could look in your eye, pleasantly explain why you were wrong, and you didn’t mind.”
^{-Nancy Floreen 41}

“She conveyed an inner strength, an absence of ego, a genuine interest, a spirit of problem solving that was infectious.” 
-Nancy Floreen⁴²

“Her journalistic career, coupled with her career as a legislator and an important policy maker was exemplary, but coupled with her leadership in community organizations, it was extraordinary.” 
-The Montgomery County Commission for Women ⁴³

“Jean brought us insight, compassion, humor, and great good judgment to the decisions we make.” 
-Royce Hanson⁴⁴

1. Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame Nomination, The Montgomery County Commission for Women, October 12, 2012  return to text 

2. Ibid.  return to text 

3. Sebastian Montes, Susan Singer-Bart, Melissa A. Chadwick, Melissa  Brachfield, “Planning Board Member, Former Legislator Jean Cryor Dies: Potomac Woman was Former Gazette Publisher,” Gazette.Net, Maryland Community Newspapers Online, (Maryland) November 4, 2009  return to text

4. Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame Nomination  return to text 

5.  Ibid.  return to text 

6.  Adam Bernstein, “Montgomery Planning Board Member,” The Washington Post, (Washington D.C.), November 6, 2009  return to text 

7. Matthew Mosk, “In Annapolis, Del. Cryor Is in the Catbird Seat: Leadership Change Lifts Republican’s Profile,” The Washington Post, (Washington D.C.), January 30, 2003  return to text 

8. Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame Nomination  return to text 

9. Montes, Singer-Bart, Chadwick, Brachfield, “Planning Board Member, Former Legislator Jean Cryor”  return to text 

10. “Jean Cryor-Biography,” JeanCryor.com, last modified February 18, 2005, http://jeancryor.com/biography.html  return to text 

11. Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame Nomination  return to text 

12. Mosk, “In Annapolis”  return to text 

13. Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame Nomination  return to text 

14. Ibid.  return to text 

15. Ibid.  return to text 

16. Ibid.  return to text 

17. Ibid.  return to text 

18. “House of Delegates, Former Delegates: Jean B. Cryor,” Maryland Manual Online, last modified December 11, 2006, http://msa/mdmanual/06hse/former/html/msa12204.html  return to text 

19. Ibid.  return to text 

20. Aaron Stern and Mary Vause, “Cryor to Receive Lifetime Service Award: Jean Cryor, Maryland Delegate and Longtime Potomac Activist, will be honored at the Potomac Chamber of Commerce Dinner on Thursday,” The Connection Newspapers, (Potomac, Maryland), November 14, 2006, http://www,connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=73960&paper=70&cat=104  return to text 

21. “Jean Cryor-Biography”  return to text     

22. Michael Abramowitz, “Anti-Stadium Legislators Ride Public Furor to Showdown in Annapolis,” The Washington Post (Washington D.C.), February 12, 1996  return to text 

23. Fern Shen, “Rules on Cell Phones Decried; Students Can Face Suspension, Arrest; New Law Proposed,” The Washington Post (Washington D.C.) February 17, 2000  return to text 

24. “Maryland’s Top 100 Women, 2003,” The Daily Record, 2003, pg. 29  return to text 

25. Tracey Reeves, “Bills Would Expand Tax-Free Shop Week; School Supplies, Computers, Considered,” The Washington Post (Washington D.C.), January 24, 2002  return to text 

26. Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame Nomination  return to text

27. Ibid.  return to text 

28. Stern and Vause, “Cryor to Receive Lifetime Service Award  return to text 

29. “Maryland’s Top 100 Women, 2003”  return to text 

30. Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame Nomination  return to text 

31. Stern and Vause, “Cryor to Receive Lifetime Service Award  return to text 

32. “Maryland’s Top 100 Women, 2003”  return to text 

33. Tammy Murphy, “Cryor was ‘Caught in the Storm’ in Bid to Keep House Seat: GOP Incumbent Says She Expects a Loss Once all Ballots are Counted,”  Gazette.Net: Maryland Community Newspapers, (Maryland), November 10, 2006   return to text 

34. “July 2010 Newsletter,” Duchy Trachtenberg, County Council: Montgomery County, Maryland, accessed June 27, 2013, https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/717/05/  return to text 

35.  Montes, Singer-Bart, Chadwick, Brachfield, “Planning Board Member, Former Legislator Jean Cryor”  return to text 

36. Ibid.  return to text 

37. Sharon M. Grosfield, Letter to the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame, October 21, 2012  return to text 

38.Ibid.   return to text 

39. Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame Nomination  return to text 

40. Ibid.  return to text 

41. Ibid.  return to text 

42. Ibid.  return to text 

43. Ibid.  return to text 

44. Montes, Singer-Bart, Chadwick, Brachfield, “Planning Board Member, Former Legislator Jean Cryor”  return to text