Helen Holt, First Female to Hold WV Statewide Office, mother of U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, Dies at 101
Source: WV Public Radio
The first woman to hold a statewide office in West Virginia, Helen Holt, passed away Sunday at the age of 101. Holt died of heart failure in Boca Raton, Florida.
Among her many accomplishments, Holt may be best known for being the first female Secretary of State in West Virginia, appointed to the office by Gov. Cecil Underwood in 1957 after the passing of Secretary D. Pitt O’Brien.
At the time, Holt was serving in the West Virginia House of Delegates, filling the seat of her late husband, Rush Holt, Sr., who had passed. Rush Holt had also served a term in the United States Senate representing West Virginia.
Upon her appointment, Helen Holt was the only woman to have held a statewide office until 1988 when Chief Justice Margaret Workman was elected to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.
Read more: http://wvpublic.org/post/helen-holt-first-female-hold-wva-statewide-offices-dies-101
Wonderful, friendly lady, who I had the pleasure to meet a few times when she visited WV. A class act.
An old school Republican, she backed Democrats in later years, most recently supporting Natalie Tennant in her campaign for Senate. She was remarkably healthy and stayed active right up to the end.
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