After her husband's death, Ehringhaus co-edited the North Carolina Almanac and State Industrial Guide and, in 1952, served as an alternate delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

[2] Her mother, Susan, was the daughter of Wilson Gray Lamb, Jr., a local political leader, merchant, and Confederate veteran.

[4] Through her maternal grandfather, Ehringhaus was a descendant of Colonel Gideon Lamb, a military officer who served in the 6th North Carolina Regiment of the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

[4][5] Her granduncle, Lieutenant Colonel John Calhoun Lamb, was mortally wounded during the Bermuda Hundred campaign in the Civil War.

"[1] While living in the North Carolina Executive Mansion in Raleigh, Ehringhaus hosted musical salons, where her husband played the piano while guests sang.

In 1957, she told a reporter for the News & Observer that being First Lady of North Carolina was "an experience I'm glad I had, but I wouldn't want to be a governor's wife two terms.

[9][10] While her husband served in the North Carolina General Assembly the family lived at the Sir Walter Hotel in downtown Raleigh.

[11] After her husband finished his term as governor in January 1937, the family moved to a house on Fairview Road in the affluent Five Points neighborhood in Raleigh.