Helen Milliken | |
|---|---|
| First Lady of Michigan | |
| In role January 22, 1969 – January 1, 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Lenore Romney |
| Succeeded by | Paula Blanchard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Helen Wallbank December 4, 1922 Denver, Colorado |
| Died | November 16, 2012(2012-11-16) (aged 89) Traverse City, Michigan |
| Spouse | William Milliken (m. 1945) |
| Children | 2 |
Helen Wallbank Milliken (December 4, 1922[1] – November 16, 2012) was anAmericanwomen's rightsactivist,environmentalist, and formerFirst Lady of Michigan. Milliken, the longest-lived First Lady in Michigan's history (living to 89 years old), served from 1969 to 1983 during the tenure of her husband, formerMichigan GovernorWilliam Milliken. Milliken was known for her activism on behalf of many causes throughout her life. During the 1970s, she was one of Michigan's leading proponents of the proposedEqual Rights Amendment to theUnited States Constitution.[1][2]
Milliken was bornHelen Wallbank on December 4, 1922, inColorado,[1] the second of four children of Stanley and Nellie (née Sillik) Wallbank. She attended a girls' school inDenver, Colorado.[2] She enrolled inSmith College inNorthampton, Massachusetts, after high school, where she earned abachelor's degree in 1945.[1][2]
In 1943, she met her future husband,William Milliken, in Colorado while she was home for summer break after completing her freshman year at Smith College.[2] Milliken was then a student at Yale University (located approximately 80 miles from Smith College), but he was stationed atLowry Field's aerialgunnery school for training in theUnited States Army Air Corps.[2] DuringWorld War II, Milliken served as a U.S. Army Air CorpsB-24 waist-gunner.[2]
The couple married in October 1945, after having delayed their wedding six times due to Milliken's military commitments during the war. They moved toConnecticut, where they lived in a one-bedroom apartment while Milliken completed his senior year at Yale University.[1]
Helen and William Milliken moved to his nativeTraverse City, Michigan, after his graduation from Yale University in 1946. They had two children there: William Milliken Jr., born October 14, 1946, and Elaine Milliken, who was born on June 6, 1948. A lawyer and feminist, Elaine died of cancer in 1993.[2] Helen Milliken raised their two children while William worked for the family business, the now defunct Milliken's Department Store.[1][2]
Helen Milliken first entered the political arena when her husband was elected a State Senator in 1960. William Milliken was elected asLieutenant Governor of Michigan, serving under GovernorGeorge Romney. Milliken succeeded to the position ofGovernor of Michigan in 1969 when Romney resigned to becomeUnited States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development withinPresidentRichard Nixon's cabinet.[3]
Milliken served as First Lady for fourteen years, the longest tenure of any First Lady in state history. In this role, she became known as a proponent of women's rights and environmentalism.[3] In particular, Milliken became one of Michigan's leading supporters of theEqual Rights Amendment (ERA) and was affiliated withERAmerica.[4] The ERA had been passed by the United States Congress in 1972 and was ratified by thirty-five states, including Michigan, in the next years.[1] When the1980 Republican National Convention, held inDetroit, removed language supporting the ERA from the convention platform, First Lady Helen Milliken boycotted the convention's opening ceremony to attend a pro-ERA protest.[1]
In 1994, Democratic Michigan gubernatorial nomineeHoward Wolpe asked Helen Milliken to be hisrunning mate forLieutenant Governor of Michigan.[1] She declined Wolpe's offer.[1] Wolfe selected thenState SenatorDebbie Stabenow as his running mate. He was defeated in the 1994 general election by incumbent RepublicanMichigan GovernorJohn Engler.
While Helen Milliken largely avoided political campaigns during her later life, she endorsed two prominent Democrats for election. Milliken endorsedJennifer Granholm for Governor of Michigan, as well as Democratic presidential nominee, SenatorJohn Kerry, during the2004 U.S. presidential election.[1]
| Honorary titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | First Lady of Michigan 1969 — 1983 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
