Helen Holt was married to the youngest man ever elected to the US Senate. After his early death, Helen was elected the 1st female Sec. of State of West Virginia, then served under 8 Presidents establishing elder health care facilities.
If history is biography, then this story, the life of Helen Holt, will clarify some historical issues. Issues like integrity in politics, the merits of education, aid for the elderly, and so much more absorbed Helen's time. As Vice Pres. Joe Biden said, "[Her] life represents a part of the American story." Born in 1913, Helen continues at age 101 to inspire all who know her.
Excerpt
Helen was born August 16, 1913. A quote from William Shakespeare best describes the hesitation that was in the air around the world in 1913, before the storm of war:
Take heed
Lest you awake the sleeping sword of war;
We charge you in the name of God take heed!
For never two such kingdoms did contend
Without much fall of blood.
The year 1913 marked the end of what was considered the ‘glittering age;’ but the so-called splendor was only on the surface, especially in the cities. Paris was considered the “quintessential city of seduction, sensation, and spectacle.” While his fellow Parisians were concerned about the riotous premiere of Stravinsky's ‘The Rite of Spring,’ French President Raymond Poincaré was still upset about the German take-over of Lorraine (that was back in 1870) and was uncompromising in his attitude toward Germany. In August, 1912, he assured the Russians that his government would stand by the Franco-Russian alliance. However, anticipating the inevitable, in November, he concluded an agreement with Britain committing both countries to consult in the event of an international crisis as well as on joint military plans. We mentioned this because Alsace-Lorraine was the home of Helen's ancestors.
In Greece, King George I was assassinated after having spent fifty years on the throne. His son, Constantine, succeeded him. Also in 1913, the Second Balkan War broke out when Bulgaria attacked Serbia and Greece, two countries who were once its allies. Even the Pope in Rome anticipated the relentless advance of the European powers toward war. He watched in silence, praying he was wrong. In 1914, Pope Pius X met with an emissary of Emperor Franz Joseph and told him that he blessed peace not war. (In 1954, Pope Pius X was canonized, the first pope since Pope Pius V, 1566–1572.)
The year before the war was long remembered as a European idyll, a short poem of passive pleasure with the undertones of strife. But in this country, the idyll description was real. No turmoil … yet!
Professional Reviews
John a. Boener, The speaker, House of Representatives
"Brave patriots like [Helen] have made it possible to raise our families and pursue our dreams in the greatest nation on earth."
Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States
"[Helen has] not only witnessed some of Nations most defining moments but [she has] also helped to make them ... [Her] life represents a part of the American Story."
A Professional Woman by Necessity
By Story Circle Book Reviews on March 22, 2015
"When it comes to doing things for others,
some people stop at nothing."
These words are not just a frequent aphorism of Helen Holt. They are a true reflection of her 23 dedicated years as a public servant. Holt's list of accolades is nothing less than remarkable. Yet the 101-year-old icon and first woman to hold a statewide-office in West Virginia is not at all shy to admit that she became "a professional woman by necessity."
Author Patricia Daly-Lipe presents a woman who unwittingly becomes a trailblazer for women in the political arena. The real irony is that Holt never gives politics a second thought until she marries the youngest U.S. senator (1935-1941) from West Virginia, Rush D. Holt, Jr. in 1941. Holt immediately gets involved in her husband's work, and Rush is quick to teach Holt "how to work with men and to feel comfortable working with them," since she is a lone woman in a man's world. That is only the beginning.
Daly-Lipe takes readers behind the scenes to their home life. Deeply in love, Holt and her husband are blessed with a boy and a girl. But amid many joyful moments, their short-lived marriage is filled with trials and tribulations. Tragedy strikes with the sudden death of Rush's sister, leaving the responsibility of raising her son to her brother and sister-in-law. Aside from adjustments, their nephew is a welcomed addition to the Holts' growing family. Yet more problems ensue as Rush has bouts with the cancer that eventually leads to his untimely death in 1955.
Daly-Lipe clearly portrays Holt's overwhelming conundrum as she is left to raise three children with absolutely no income; pension is granted only to public officers 50 years of age and over. Rush was 49 at the time of his death. Yet in an amazing turn of events, Holt is able to provide for her family when she takes over Rush's position in the West Virginia House of Delegates. A pay increase comes two years later when Holt is sworn in as Secretary of State of West Virginia. President Eisenhower commissions her in 1960 with "the task of creating a program to fix the nation's ailing network of nursing homes" because, as Holt puts it, "they had to get a woman—no man was sufficiently interested." Holt tirelessly carries out this job over the course of seven consecutive presidents of the United States.
The American people owe much to Holt for her marvelous example of leadership and for her diligence in developing the Assisted Living/Nursing Care programs and homes that are in existence today. Many kudos to Daly-Lipe for conveying the powerful essence of Helen Holt in this Memoir of a Servant Leader.
Jack Kelly was a child performer, son of New York model, Nan Kelly, brother of actress, Nancy Kelly, brother-in-law of actor Edmond O'Brien and cinematographer Fred Jackman, Jr. On TV, from 1957 until 1962, he was James Garner's brother on the show,
