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Virginia Clinton Kelley | |
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.jpg) Kelley in theOval Office in 1993 | |
| Born | Virginia Dell Cassidy (1923-06-06)June 6, 1923 |
| Died | January 6, 1994(1994-01-06) (aged 70) Hot Springs,Arkansas, U.S. |
| Burial place | Rose Hill Cemetery,Hope,Arkansas, U.S. |
| Other names |
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| Education | Northwestern State University |
| Occupation | Nurse anesthetist |
| Known for | Mother ofU.S. PresidentBill Clinton |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Children | |
| Relatives | Hillary Rodham (daughter-in-law) Chelsea Clinton (granddaughter) |
| Family | Clinton family |
Virginia Dell Clinton Kelley (néeCassidy; June 6, 1923 – January 6, 1994) was an Americannurse anesthetist. She was the mother ofBill Clinton, the 42ndpresident of the United States, andRoger Clinton Jr.
Virginia Dell Cassidy was born inBodcaw, Arkansas. She was the only child of James Eldridge Cassidy (1898–1957), the town iceman (later a grocer), and Edith (née Grisham) Cassidy (1901–1968), a nurse. Her family moved toHope, Arkansas, when she was a toddler. During her high school years, she worked as a waitress at a local restaurant. Following her graduation from high school, Virginia moved toShreveport, Louisiana, to study to be a nurse like her mother. During her training in Shreveport, she met her first husband,William Jefferson Blythe Jr., whom she married in a civil ceremony in 1943, just before he shipped out forWorld War II military duty. Upon completion of her training, she returned toHope, Arkansas. When her husband was discharged after the war, he picked her up and they moved for four months toChicago,Illinois. Unbeknownst to her, the marriage was bigamous, because he was still legally married to his fourth wife.
She moved back to her parents' house while she and William were in the process of getting a new home in the Hope area. While William was on his way back to Hope, he was killed in an automobile accident, three months before the birth of their son,Bill III.
Virginia later spent time inNew Orleans, Louisiana training to be a nurse anesthetist.[1] In 1950, Virginia married car salesmanRoger Clinton Sr., the father of her younger son,Roger Clinton Jr. Roger Sr. was an alcoholic and was physically and mentally abusive to Virginia and her boys. He did not adopt Bill, but Bill took his surname legally in 1962. He told his mother that it would be easier if they all had the same last name. Roger Sr. and Virginia divorced in 1962 but remarried each other a few months later.[citation needed]
Following Roger's death fromcancer in 1967, Virginia Clinton married hairdresserJeff Dwire in 1969; he subsequently died of complications ofdiabetes in 1974. On January 17, 1982, she married Richard Kelley (1915–2007), an executive at a food distribution brokerage firm. Their marriage lasted until her death on January 6, 1994, from complications ofbreast cancer, at the age of 70, at her home inHot Springs, Arkansas. She died just less than a year after her son became the 42nd president of the United States on January 20, 1993. She is buried alongside her first husband William Jefferson Blythe Jr. atRose Hill Cemetery in Hope, Arkansas.
Before her death, she was interviewed byConnie Chung and spoke about both of her sons.[2] She was also extremely close to performerBarbra Streisand, who described her as "like the mother I've always dreamed of."[3]
In 1998, Bill Clinton recounted that his mother, along with his wifeHillary Clinton andJohn Lewis, was one of the earliest supporters for hisinitial presidential campaign.[4]
John Lewis has been my friend for a long time--a long time--a long time before he could have ever known that I would be here. And he stood with me in 1991 when only my mother and my wife thought I had any chance of being elected.
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