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408:. Her appointment made her the first woman to hold a statewide-office in West Virginia. She was one of only 37 women to have held office nationwide at the time, while just two other states from the Appalachian region (Kentucky and Alabama) had female Secretaries of State. She served until January 1959 when she was defeated in the November 1958 general election by Democrat
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on June 19, 1941. Rush was the youngest person ever elected to the Senate at the age of 29 in 1934. She remained married to him until his death from cancer on
February 8, 1955. At the time of his death, Rush was serving in the first month of a term in the West Virginia House of Delegates. Holt had
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as special assistant to the commissioner for a program overseeing nursing homes in 1960. In her role as special assistant, Holt helped to reform long-term care facilities and provided insured mortgages to build more than 1,000 nursing homes nationwide. Under seven different U.S. presidents, Holt
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until the 1980s. While Holt did not consider herself a feminist and was critical of "women's lib," she nevertheless served on the boards of various women's clubs and organizations, helped advance the careers of other women, and was a role model for women leaders.
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in August of that year. Holt died in Boca Raton, Florida, of heart failure on July 12, 2015, aged 101, a month shy of her 102nd birthday. Her story has been written, by commission from Holt herself, by author
Patricia Daly-Lipe as
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Gingerich) Froelich. Her parents were second generation immigrants from
Germany. They were especially patriotic Americans, and her father served as mayor in their small town for more than 20 years.
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magazine published a glamour shot of her in a spread about the country's prettiest school teachers. The photograph caught the attention of U.S. Senator
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After her defeat, Holt was appointed in 1959 to be
Assistant Commissioner of Public Institutions, a position that oversaw women's prisons and
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worked to develop the expansive nursing home and housing system for the elderly that is still in use today. She served in the
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Kunz, Karen; Defrank-Cole, Lisa (2015). "Helen Holt: A Centenarian's
Reflections on a Lifetime of Public Service".
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Holt was valedictorian of her high school and the only woman from her class who went on to college. She studied at
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Holt continued to serve as a professor at
Greenbrier until 1957 when she was appointed by Republican governor
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329:. Holt was among just 4% of American women who completed a four-year college degree at that time.
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and became a close advisor to her husband as well as serving as an officer for the
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from 1955 to 1957. Holt was the first woman to hold a statewide-office in the
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Following Rush's death from cancer in 1955, Helen was appointed by
Governor
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Interview of Helen Holt by West
Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant
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838:"Helen Holt, First Female to Hold W.Va. Statewide Offices, Dies at 101"
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United States
Department of Housing and Urban Development officials
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before earning her bachelor's and master's degrees in zoology at
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690:"Mrs. Holt Takes Secretary Post - Resigns College Office"
275:, to improve long-term care facilities for the elderly.
538:"West Virginia University Honorary Degrees - Helen Holt"
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Holt never remarried and in 2013, she was a resident of
310:, the daughter of Gridley Mayor William E. and Edna M. (
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from 1941 until his death in 1955 and was the mother of
819:"Helen Holt, former WV Secretary of State, passes away"
616:
120 Years of
American Education: A Statistical Portrait
248:
scientist, educator, and politician. She served as the
663:"Chronology of Women in the West Virginia Legislature"
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790:"W.Va.'s 1st female secretary of state turns 100"
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1216:Members of the West Virginia House of Delegates
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99:February 17, 1955 â December 1, 1956
884:West Virginia Secretaries of State 1901-2000
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501:"Stumping for her son doesn't ever grow old"
46:December 4, 1957 â January 19, 1959
871:West Virginia & Regional History Center
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434:Department of Housing and Urban Development
273:Department of Housing and Urban Development
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618:. U.S. Department of Education. p. 7.
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252:from 1957 to 1959 and also served in the
244:(August 16, 1913 â July 12, 2015) was an
1286:Women state legislators in West Virginia
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456:New Jersey's 12th congressional district
208: 1941; died 1955)
1306:20th-century West Virginia politicians
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764:"Helen Holt: Teacher, Pioneer, Mother"
613:
481:Helen Holt -Memoir of a Servant Leader
1256:Secretaries of state of West Virginia
1000:Secretaries of State of West Virginia
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445:Holt married the former U.S. Senator
1261:Spouses of West Virginia politicians
1236:People from Lewisburg, West Virginia
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1231:People from McLean County, Illinois
951:Secretary of State of West Virginia
921:Secretary of State of West Virginia
399:Secretary of State of West Virginia
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364:General Federation of Women's Clubs
250:Secretary of State of West Virginia
34:Secretary of State of West Virginia
13:
751:. Associated Press. June 20, 1941.
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1251:People from Weston, West Virginia
1246:Politicians from Washington, D.C.
1241:People from Forest Glen, Maryland
1201:American people of German descent
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380:West Virginia House of Delegates
254:West Virginia House of Delegates
87:West Virginia House of Delegates
1281:Women in West Virginia politics
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401:in 1957 following the death of
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16:American politician (1913-2015)
1291:National Park Seminary faculty
1221:Northwestern University alumni
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450:three children, including the
430:Federal Housing Administration
425:Federal Housing Administration
388:Republican National Convention
269:Federal Housing Administration
1:
1271:Washington, D.C., Republicans
836:Ashton Marra (13 July 2015).
718:"Burdett Wins Over Mrs. Holt"
486:
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1211:Educators from West Virginia
796:. 2013-08-18. Archived from
581:Public Administration Review
323:Marine Biological Laboratory
306:on August 16, 1913 in rural
7:
1301:21st-century American women
1196:American women centenarians
762:Bob Braun (July 20, 2013).
378:to fill Rush's seat in the
10:
1322:
559:Illinois Senate Resolution
338:Forest Glen Park, Maryland
332:She taught biology at the
278:Helen Holt was married to
267:She later worked with the
242:Helen Louise Froelich Holt
1276:West Virginia Republicans
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1296:American women academics
904:Party political offices
875:West Virginia University
745:"Ex-Senator Holt Weds".
472:West Virginia University
419:in the state. President
346:Lewisburg, West Virginia
271:and its successor, the
1226:Stephens College alumni
1206:Educators from Illinois
614:Snyder, Thomas (1993).
327:Northwestern University
230:Northwestern University
695:The Charleston Gazette
723:Williamson Daily News
360:Weston, West Virginia
334:National Park College
304:Helen Louise Froelich
139:Helen Louise Froelich
421:Dwight D. Eisenhower
944:Daniel Pitt O'Brien
642:The Washington Post
406:Daniel Pitt O'Brien
290:U.S. Representative
172:Boca Raton, Florida
67:Daniel Pitt O'Brien
936:Political offices
889:2013-01-05 at the
879:Helen Holt, Papers
748:The New York Times
726:. November 5, 1958
698:. December 5, 1957
593:10.1111/puar.12405
432:'s successor, the
376:William C. Marland
342:Greenbrier College
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958:Succeeded by
928:Succeeded by
636:Bernstein, Adam.
506:Asbury Park Press
308:Gridley, Illinois
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844:. Archived from
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441:Personal life
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417:nursing homes
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20:
1100:
949:
919:nominee for
915:
850:. Retrieved
846:the original
842:wvpublic.org
841:
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813:
802:. Retrieved
798:the original
784:
772:. Retrieved
768:the original
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728:. Retrieved
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541:. Retrieved
511:. Retrieved
504:
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474:in 2013 and
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397:to serve as
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167:(2015-07-12)
117:Succeeded by
94:
74:Succeeded by
41:
1191:2015 deaths
1186:1913 births
1116:Rockefeller
647:12 February
452:Congressman
348:. In 1940,
105:Preceded by
62:Preceded by
1180:Categories
1141:J. Manchin
1096:D. O'Brien
1091:W. O'Brien
917:Republican
911:Holt Byrne
823:wvnstv.com
804:2013-08-20
487:References
476:turned 100
384:Republican
298:Early life
287:New Jersey
225:Alma mater
182:Republican
145:1913-08-16
1126:McCartney
1046:Stalnaker
774:August 7,
730:August 7,
702:August 7,
671:August 7,
543:August 7,
513:August 7,
356:Rush Holt
95:In office
42:In office
1121:Heiskell
887:Archived
601:24757366
403:Democrat
321:and the
246:American
216:Children
156:Illinois
51:Governor
1151:Tennant
1146:Ireland
1136:Hechler
1106:Burdett
1071:Swisher
1061:Chilton
1036:Hedrick
1021:Witcher
852:14 July
280:Senator
210:
202:
198:
152:Gridley
1156:Warner
1111:Bailey
1066:Dawson
1051:Walker
1031:Phelps
1011:Boyers
599:
188:Spouse
1086:Sharp
1081:Young
1056:Ohley
1041:Brady
1026:Pipes
925:1958
666:(PDF)
597:JSTOR
470:from
454:from
258:state
204:(
200:
1101:Holt
1076:Reed
1016:Hall
854:2015
776:2013
732:2013
704:2013
673:2013
649:2016
545:2013
515:2013
382:. A
351:Life
340:and
162:Died
135:Born
873:at
589:doi
344:in
336:in
312:nÊe
260:of
1182::
877:,
840:.
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143:(
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.