Bernice Taber Van der Vries (February 14, 1890 – August 30, 1986) was an American politician. Born in

Holton, Kansas Holton is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 3,401. History The party that chose the site of Holton started at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in May 1856. A ...

, Van der Vries went to

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

and the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

. She lived in

Winnetka, Illinois Winnetka () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located north of downtown Chicago. The population was 12,316 as of 2019. The village is one of the wealthiest places in the nation in terms of household income. It was the second- ...

and had served on the Winnetka Village Board in 1931 and 1933. From 1935 to 1957, Van der Vries served in the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

and was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. Then, Van der Vries served on the

Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , o ...

Board from 1957 to 1971. Van der Vries died at the Swedish Retirement Association Home in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

.'Bernice Van Der Vries, Former State Lawmaker,' Chicago Tribune, September 2, 1986

Notes

1890 births 1986 deaths People from Winnetka, Illinois People from Holton, Kansas Barnard College alumni University of Kansas alumni Women state legislators in Illinois Illinois city council members Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Women city councillors in Illinois 20th-century American legislators 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century Illinois politicians {{Illinois-Ilrepresentative-stub