Archives West Finding Aid

Dorothy Norene Fritz was born in Sequim, Washington, in 1924 to Ira and Ida (Ike and Peggy) Fritz. She graduated from high school in 1941, and in 1942 she married Gustof “Hugo” Eck of Anaconda, Montana. In 1946, the Ecks moved to Bozeman, Montana, where Hugo, an architect and engineer, took a teaching position at Montana State University. Dorothy and Hugo had two children, Laurence and Diana, and while the children were young, Dorothy attended MSU at night, eventually earning her bachelor’s in secondary education, and her master’s in applied science (sociology combined with psychology and religion).

Eck’s political involvement began when she served as the state coordinator of the Methodist Youth Fellowship. She also joined the Bozeman chapter of the League of Women Voters, and in the late 1960s, she and her colleague Daphne Bugbee of Missoula became the first women citizen lobbyists at the state capital. They lobbied the Montana State Legislature to call a constitutional convention to allow for the revision of Montana’s 1889 constitution. In 1971, she ran for and was elected delegate to the Montana Constitutional Convention (Con Con). During the Convention, Eck held several leadership positions including Western District Vice Chair, Administrative Committee Vice President, and Ex Officio Vice President. She also sat on the Bill of Rights Committee and the Executive Council of the Constitution Revision Commission. The key issues that she concerned herself with included the public’s “right to know” and “right to participate” clauses, and Article X: Indian Education for All. She also focused on the Equal Rights Amendment, environmental protections, and local government issues. Eck campaigned across the state with Betty Babcock to encourage Montanans to vote for the new Constitution, which was ratified on June 6, 1972.

After the Convention, Governor Thomas Judge appointed Eck to serve as the State-Local Coordinator as a liaison between the state and local governments to implement the goals of the new constitution. She was the first woman in the state to hold high office, and she chaired the Governor’s Task Force on Citizen Participation. In 1980, Eck ran for the Montana State Senate in a district that was widely considered Republican. She was elected and served 5 terms. Some of the core issues that she focused on while in office included revising the legislature’s code of ethics and funding for education. She also worked to improve health care for children and families and served on the Select Committee on Indian Affairs to get funding to implement the Constitutional directive of Indian Education for all. She was also an active environmentalist, serving on the Environmental Quality Council, and chairing its Water Oversight Committee.

Eck retired from the legislature in 2000 but continued to work as lobbyist for the League of Women Voters. She died on September 23, 2017. Her husband, Hugo, preceded her in death on February 3, 1988.