JANET STEIGER, WHO SERVED 4 PRESIDENTS, DIES AT 64 WIDOW OF CONGRESSMAN ALSO HEADED FTC:- Monday, April 5, 2004
Janet Steiger, a congressman's widow who went on to head the Federal Trade Commission and serve under four presidents, has died at the age of 64.
In her years of government service, the Oshkosh native investigated the nuclear power plant accident at Three Mile Island and set postal rates.
While serving as FTC chairwoman, she was instrumental in the first government actions against tobacco companies over the use of cartoon characters to target youths, said her son Bill Steiger, an assistant to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.
Steiger died Saturday while visiting her sister, Ann Dempsey, in Fort Myers, Fla. "I'll miss her terribly," Dempsey said. "I'm still in deep shock."
The FTC administers consumer protection, antitrust and truth-in-lending laws. Her son said that, under her leadership, the commission's duties were expanded to more consumer issues.
"She really hated junk mail, and she hated unsolicited phone calls," he said. "She was instrumental in starting what eventually became the Do not call' list."
Steiger married William A. Steiger in 1963 when the Republican represented Oshkosh in the Wisconsin Assembly. He went on to represent Wisconsin's 6th District in the U.S. House of Representatives -- a post he held when he was stricken by a fatal heart attack in 1978 at age 40.
William Steiger had been a freshman congressman in 1967 with Donald Rumsfeld, now the secretary of defense, and George H.W. Bush, who became godfather of Bill Steiger, the couple's only child.
Janet Steiger served in federal posts under presidents of both parties -- two Democrats and two Republicans.
"It speaks to her abilities but also her essential dedication to service," her son said. "She was in it to give back to people, and she got along with people from both sides of the aisle and earned everybody's trust and respect."
President Jimmy Carter appointed her to a commission investigating the cause of the Three Mile Island accident.
Then Carter named her to one of the Republican seats on the U.S. Postal Rate Commission.
President Ronald Reagan appointed her to lead the commission in 1981, and she held that post for eight years.
Under President George H.W. Bush, she became the chairwoman of the FTC in 1989 and stayed on the job into President Bill Clinton's tenure. She was head of the commission until 1995 and spent two more years as a member.
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle called Steiger "a wonderful person and a good friend."
"I worked closely with her for many years when she was chair of the FTC," the governor said. "She deserves enormous credit for restoring the FTC as a champion of the American consumer."
Steiger, a graduate of Lawrence University in Appleton, was a Fulbright scholar who studied medieval literature at the University of Reading in England.
When she returned to her home state, she studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and then was a student teacher at Fond du Lac Junior High School in the early 1960s.
Former Gov. Scott McCallum recalled being a student in her first class.
"She was the type of person who would have been successful in whatever she went into," said McCallum, who later worked part-time for her husband as a graduate student before becoming Wisconsin's lieutenant governor and governor. "She was very smart, she was very much a leader."
Services were scheduled in Oshkosh, with visitation from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Fiss & Bills Funeral Home and a funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Peter's Parish. Burial will be at Lakeview Cemetery in Oshkosh.
Janet Steiger, a congressman's widow who went on to head the Federal Trade Commission and serve under four presidents, has died at the age of 64.
In her years of government service, the Oshkosh native investigated the nuclear power plant accident at Three Mile Island and set postal rates.
While serving as FTC chairwoman, she was instrumental in the first government actions against tobacco companies over the use of cartoon characters to target youths, said her son Bill Steiger, an assistant to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.
Steiger died Saturday while visiting her sister, Ann Dempsey, in Fort Myers, Fla. "I'll miss her terribly," Dempsey said. "I'm still in deep shock."
The FTC administers consumer protection, antitrust and truth-in-lending laws. Her son said that, under her leadership, the commission's duties were expanded to more consumer issues.
"She really hated junk mail, and she hated unsolicited phone calls," he said. "She was instrumental in starting what eventually became the Do not call' list."
Steiger married William A. Steiger in 1963 when the Republican represented Oshkosh in the Wisconsin Assembly. He went on to represent Wisconsin's 6th District in the U.S. House of Representatives -- a post he held when he was stricken by a fatal heart attack in 1978 at age 40.
William Steiger had been a freshman congressman in 1967 with Donald Rumsfeld, now the secretary of defense, and George H.W. Bush, who became godfather of Bill Steiger, the couple's only child.
Janet Steiger served in federal posts under presidents of both parties -- two Democrats and two Republicans.
"It speaks to her abilities but also her essential dedication to service," her son said. "She was in it to give back to people, and she got along with people from both sides of the aisle and earned everybody's trust and respect."
President Jimmy Carter appointed her to a commission investigating the cause of the Three Mile Island accident.
Then Carter named her to one of the Republican seats on the U.S. Postal Rate Commission.
President Ronald Reagan appointed her to lead the commission in 1981, and she held that post for eight years.
Under President George H.W. Bush, she became the chairwoman of the FTC in 1989 and stayed on the job into President Bill Clinton's tenure. She was head of the commission until 1995 and spent two more years as a member.
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle called Steiger "a wonderful person and a good friend."
"I worked closely with her for many years when she was chair of the FTC," the governor said. "She deserves enormous credit for restoring the FTC as a champion of the American consumer."
Steiger, a graduate of Lawrence University in Appleton, was a Fulbright scholar who studied medieval literature at the University of Reading in England.
When she returned to her home state, she studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and then was a student teacher at Fond du Lac Junior High School in the early 1960s.
Former Gov. Scott McCallum recalled being a student in her first class.
"She was the type of person who would have been successful in whatever she went into," said McCallum, who later worked part-time for her husband as a graduate student before becoming Wisconsin's lieutenant governor and governor. "She was very smart, she was very much a leader."
Services were scheduled in Oshkosh, with visitation from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Fiss & Bills Funeral Home and a funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Peter's Parish. Burial will be at Lakeview Cemetery in Oshkosh.
JANET STEIGER, WHO SERVED 4 PRESIDENTS, DIES AT 64 WIDOW OF CONGRESSMAN ALSO HEADED FTC:- Monday, April 5, 2004
Janet Steiger, a congressman's widow who went on to head the Federal Trade Commission and serve under four presidents, has died at the age of 64.
In her years of government service, the Oshkosh native investigated the nuclear power plant accident at Three Mile Island and set postal rates.
While serving as FTC chairwoman, she was instrumental in the first government actions against tobacco companies over the use of cartoon characters to target youths, said her son Bill Steiger, an assistant to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.
Steiger died Saturday while visiting her sister, Ann Dempsey, in Fort Myers, Fla. "I'll miss her terribly," Dempsey said. "I'm still in deep shock."
The FTC administers consumer protection, antitrust and truth-in-lending laws. Her son said that, under her leadership, the commission's duties were expanded to more consumer issues.
"She really hated junk mail, and she hated unsolicited phone calls," he said. "She was instrumental in starting what eventually became the Do not call' list."
Steiger married William A. Steiger in 1963 when the Republican represented Oshkosh in the Wisconsin Assembly. He went on to represent Wisconsin's 6th District in the U.S. House of Representatives -- a post he held when he was stricken by a fatal heart attack in 1978 at age 40.
William Steiger had been a freshman congressman in 1967 with Donald Rumsfeld, now the secretary of defense, and George H.W. Bush, who became godfather of Bill Steiger, the couple's only child.
Janet Steiger served in federal posts under presidents of both parties -- two Democrats and two Republicans.
"It speaks to her abilities but also her essential dedication to service," her son said. "She was in it to give back to people, and she got along with people from both sides of the aisle and earned everybody's trust and respect."
President Jimmy Carter appointed her to a commission investigating the cause of the Three Mile Island accident.
Then Carter named her to one of the Republican seats on the U.S. Postal Rate Commission.
President Ronald Reagan appointed her to lead the commission in 1981, and she held that post for eight years.
Under President George H.W. Bush, she became the chairwoman of the FTC in 1989 and stayed on the job into President Bill Clinton's tenure. She was head of the commission until 1995 and spent two more years as a member.
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle called Steiger "a wonderful person and a good friend."
"I worked closely with her for many years when she was chair of the FTC," the governor said. "She deserves enormous credit for restoring the FTC as a champion of the American consumer."
Steiger, a graduate of Lawrence University in Appleton, was a Fulbright scholar who studied medieval literature at the University of Reading in England.
When she returned to her home state, she studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and then was a student teacher at Fond du Lac Junior High School in the early 1960s.
Former Gov. Scott McCallum recalled being a student in her first class.
"She was the type of person who would have been successful in whatever she went into," said McCallum, who later worked part-time for her husband as a graduate student before becoming Wisconsin's lieutenant governor and governor. "She was very smart, she was very much a leader."
Services were scheduled in Oshkosh, with visitation from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Fiss & Bills Funeral Home and a funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Peter's Parish. Burial will be at Lakeview Cemetery in Oshkosh.
Janet Steiger, a congressman's widow who went on to head the Federal Trade Commission and serve under four presidents, has died at the age of 64.
In her years of government service, the Oshkosh native investigated the nuclear power plant accident at Three Mile Island and set postal rates.
While serving as FTC chairwoman, she was instrumental in the first government actions against tobacco companies over the use of cartoon characters to target youths, said her son Bill Steiger, an assistant to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.
Steiger died Saturday while visiting her sister, Ann Dempsey, in Fort Myers, Fla. "I'll miss her terribly," Dempsey said. "I'm still in deep shock."
The FTC administers consumer protection, antitrust and truth-in-lending laws. Her son said that, under her leadership, the commission's duties were expanded to more consumer issues.
"She really hated junk mail, and she hated unsolicited phone calls," he said. "She was instrumental in starting what eventually became the Do not call' list."
Steiger married William A. Steiger in 1963 when the Republican represented Oshkosh in the Wisconsin Assembly. He went on to represent Wisconsin's 6th District in the U.S. House of Representatives -- a post he held when he was stricken by a fatal heart attack in 1978 at age 40.
William Steiger had been a freshman congressman in 1967 with Donald Rumsfeld, now the secretary of defense, and George H.W. Bush, who became godfather of Bill Steiger, the couple's only child.
Janet Steiger served in federal posts under presidents of both parties -- two Democrats and two Republicans.
"It speaks to her abilities but also her essential dedication to service," her son said. "She was in it to give back to people, and she got along with people from both sides of the aisle and earned everybody's trust and respect."
President Jimmy Carter appointed her to a commission investigating the cause of the Three Mile Island accident.
Then Carter named her to one of the Republican seats on the U.S. Postal Rate Commission.
President Ronald Reagan appointed her to lead the commission in 1981, and she held that post for eight years.
Under President George H.W. Bush, she became the chairwoman of the FTC in 1989 and stayed on the job into President Bill Clinton's tenure. She was head of the commission until 1995 and spent two more years as a member.
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle called Steiger "a wonderful person and a good friend."
"I worked closely with her for many years when she was chair of the FTC," the governor said. "She deserves enormous credit for restoring the FTC as a champion of the American consumer."
Steiger, a graduate of Lawrence University in Appleton, was a Fulbright scholar who studied medieval literature at the University of Reading in England.
When she returned to her home state, she studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and then was a student teacher at Fond du Lac Junior High School in the early 1960s.
Former Gov. Scott McCallum recalled being a student in her first class.
"She was the type of person who would have been successful in whatever she went into," said McCallum, who later worked part-time for her husband as a graduate student before becoming Wisconsin's lieutenant governor and governor. "She was very smart, she was very much a leader."
Services were scheduled in Oshkosh, with visitation from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Fiss & Bills Funeral Home and a funeral Mass at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Peter's Parish. Burial will be at Lakeview Cemetery in Oshkosh.
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