Helen Elizabeth Sommers (March 29, 1932 – March 7, 2017) was an American politician. She served in the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

from 1972 to 2009. She represented Washington's 36th legislative district as a Democrat. At the time of her retirement she was the state's longest serving legislator.

Early life

Sommers was born on March 29, 1932, in Woodbury Heights, New Jersey. Her parents were Roy Sommers, a car dealer who lost his auto dealership during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and worked as a car salesman for the remainder of his career, and Christine Sommers, a housewife who went back to her job as office manager for the local Girl Scouts chapter after her husband lost his dealership. Sommers and her siblings Martin and Joan were raised

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

. She graduated from Woodbury High School, where she joined the

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...

and studied secretarial training.

Early career

After graduation, Sommers began working for a

Mobil Oil Company Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999. ...

refinery as a clerk. In 1962, she began studying correspondence courses at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

although she had never been to the state. She visited

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

, in 1965 for summer classes and moved to the city full-time in 1968 where she earned her bachelor's and masters' degrees in economics from the university. She was also a Charles Bullard Forest Research Fellow at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Political career

Sommers was first elected to the

in 1972, the first woman to be elected from her district in thirty years. She was appointed as the chair of the House Appropriations Committee on January 10, 1994, by Speaker

Brian Ebersole Brian Keith Ebersole (born November 27, 1980) is an American retired mixed martial artist who competed in the UFC's Welterweight division, and holds a record of 5-3 with the organization. In addition to the UFC, Ebersole has competed in Shooto, ...

Death and legacy

Sommers died on March 7, 2017, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, aged 84. A building on the Capitol Campus was named in her honor.

References

1932 births 2017 deaths People from Woodbury Heights, New Jersey New Jersey politicians University of Washington alumni Harvard Fellows Women state legislators in Washington (state) Woodbury Junior-Senior High School alumni Democratic Party members of the Washington House of Representatives 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians {{Washington-politician-stub