Martha Carol Wilkinson (née Stafford; August 28, 1941 – May 7, 2014) was an American businesswoman and politician. She served as the First Lady of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

from 1987 to 1991. Born in

Casey County, Kentucky Casey County is a county located in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. Its county seat is Liberty. The county was formed in 1806 from the western part of Lincoln County and named for Colonel William Casey, a pioneer settler who moved his famil ...

, she was the wife of former

Kentucky Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-el ...

Wallace G. Wilkinson. In 1960, she married Wallace G. Wilkinson and together they started the Kentucky Paperback Gallery in 1963 which later became Wallace's College Book Company. Martha Wilkinson was business manager of the Wilkinson Farms. The gown Wilkinson wore at her husband's inauguration was a gift from her sister, Catherine Rubards. She wore it with a gold, ruby and diamond necklace given to her by Governor Wilkinson. Martha Wilkinson created "Martha's Army" to fight adult illiteracy. Wilkinson's group used techniques such as a telephone hotline, (800)-GED-ARMY, and financial incentives to encourage Kentucky high school dropouts to earn a General Educational Development (GED) certificate. In 1990, country-music singer

Waylon Jennings Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music. Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...

, who dropped out of school in the 10th grade, earned a GED through Martha's Army. In 1991, when her husband was

term limit A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

ed from seeking a second consecutive term, Wilkinson announced her candidacy for

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. She withdrew from the race before the Democratic primary when polls showed her trailing Lt. Gov.

Brereton Jones Brereton Chandler Jones (born June 27, 1939) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. From 1987 to 1991, he served as the 50th lieutenant governor of Kentucky and from 1991 to 1995, he was the state's 58th governor. He now ...

. She died on May 7, 2014, in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkinson, Martha First ladies and gentlemen of Kentucky Kentucky Democrats People from Casey County, Kentucky Women in Kentucky politics 1941 births 2014 deaths 21st-century American women