Dorothy "Dora" M. Lungstrom Sweeny was President of the Juneau Women's Igloo in 1939, 1940, and 1953.
Was born in Biwabik, Minnesota, on June 19, 1907and moved to Juneau, Alaska, as an infant, with her parents, Alfred E. and Mae S. "Maki" Lundstrom.
After graduating from Juneau High School, Dora attended a business college in Seattle and was subsequently employed by Hellenthal & Hellenthal Attorneys of Juneau.
She married Edward Charles Sweeney on December 17, 1927.
She was employed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs from 1930 to 1940, by the Territorial Health Department from 1940 to 1942, and the Shattuck Insurance Agency of Juneau from 1942 to 1952.
Dora worked part-time for Sommers Construction Company for about twenty-six years beginning in 1958. She retired from the company after it was dissolved when the last director, former Governor George A. Parks, died in May of 1984.
In 1953, she worked as Secretary of the Alaska Territorial Senate.
As a pioneer legislator, Dora Sweeney helped to build Alaska's political framework during the transition from territory to statehood.
Mrs. Sweeney served in the final two legislatures of the Territory of Alaska and as an elected delegate to the State's Constitutional Convention in 1955 and 1956. As a convention delegate, she served on the Committee on the Legislative Branch, and was a signer of the State Constitution in 1956. She was one of six female members of the Fifty-Five Club (fifty-five delegates to the Constitution Convention).
She was subsequently elected to three House terms in the Alaska State Legislature and retired from her legislative career in 1965.
She then worked for the Legislative Council as Legislative Historian from 1965-70 and was the first woman Sergeant-at-Arms, Alaska State House of Representatives in 1966.
In a decade which is not known for fair and equal treatment of women, Dora's career is remarkable.
She was elected five times to the House of Representatives and finally defeated by members of her own party in an unsuccessful bid for the State Senate.
In the end, her good character overshadowed her party loyalty. Mrs. Bill Egan remembers Dora for her, "friendliness, honesty, and for her efforts to do the right thing for all Alaskans, not just for the citizens of Juneau."
She served as one of three Alaska Commissioners to the "Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education" and was a charter member of the Juneau Community College Advisory Council. She served on the Juneau City Charter Commission.
The first "Woman of the Year Award" was presented to her by the Juneau Rotary Club in 1957 and the Alaska Press Club "Outstanding Citizen Award" in 1964, 1965 and 1966. She is listed in the first edition of "Who's Who of American Women."
Dora was honored by Governor Jay Hammond with an award from the "Joe Kappler Senior Citizen's Hall of Fame" in recognition of her years of service to seniors.