Ella Dee Kessel Caperton (February 26, 1943 – September 1, 2000), best known as Dee Kessel Caperton, was a First Lady of West Virginia and

Miss West Virginia The Miss West Virginia competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the U.S. state of West Virginia in the Miss America Pageant. In the fall of 2018, the Miss America Organization terminated the Miss West Virginia organizatio ...

. She was the ex-wife of former West Virginia Governor

Gaston Caperton William Gaston Caperton III (born February 21, 1940) is an American politician who served as the List of governors of West Virginia, 31st Governor of West Virginia from 1989 to 1997. He was president of the College Board, which administers the na ...

, and the daughter of former Jackson County Circuit Court Judge and West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Oliver Kessel."West Virginia's First Ladies," West Virginia Division of Culture and History, June 2007. A

Ripley, West Virginia Ripley is a city in and the county seat of Jackson County, West Virginia, Jackson County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,074 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History Ripley was originally owned and settled by Wil ...

native, she held a degree in music from

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State College ...

, a master's degree in education from the West Virginia College of Graduate Studies, and a Doctorate in Education from the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

. She was

1964 and the second runner up in the

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

pageant. She married Caperton in 1965. Two sons were born of the marriage, W.G. (Gat) Caperton, and John Kessel Caperton. After working as an interior decorator, studying classical music, and learning how to fly an

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spe ...

, in 1986 Kessel Caperton was elected to the

West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. Organization Regular sessions begin with ...

for a two-year term. She did not seek reelection in 1988, in order to campaign statewide for Caperton's campaign for governor. After becoming

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

in 1989, she became the first First Lady of West Virginia to have her own office in the State Capitol. As First Lady she focused on education, children and women's issues. In 1990, after divorcing Caperton, she created national headlines when she announced her candidacy for State Treasurer of West Virginia that year. After losing the Treasurer's race, she moved to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, where she operated a small hotel in Saint-Remy. She died in France on September 1, 2000, aged 57.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kessel Caperton, Dee 1943 births 2000 deaths Beauty pageant contestants from West Virginia First Ladies and Gentlemen of West Virginia Democratic Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates Miss America 1960s delegates Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit winners People from Ripley, West Virginia University of Pittsburgh alumni West Virginia University alumni Women state legislators in West Virginia American expatriates in France Caperton family of Virginia and West Virginia 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians