Virginia Dell Blythe Clinton Dwire Kelley (née Cassidy; June 6, 1923 – January 6, 1994) was an American
nurse anesthetist
A nurse anesthetist is an advanced practice nurse who administers anesthesia for surgery or other medical procedures. They are involved in the administration of anesthesia in a majority of countries, with varying levels of autonomy.
A survey ...
and the mother of
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
, the 42nd
president of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
.
Early life
Virginia Dell Cassidy was born in
Bodcaw, Arkansas. She was the only child of James Eldridge Cassidy (1898–1957), the town iceman (later a grocer), and Edith (née Grisham) Cassidy (1901–1968), a nurse. Her family moved to
Hope, Arkansas
Hope is a city in Hempstead County in southwestern Arkansas, United States. Hope is the county seat of Hempstead County and the principal city of the Hope Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Hempstead and Nevada counties. As of t ...
, when she was a toddler. During her high school years, she worked as a waitress at a local restaurant. Following her graduation from high school, Virginia moved to
Shreveport, Louisiana, to study to be a nurse like her mother. During her training in Shreveport, she met her first husband,
William Jefferson Blythe, Jr., whom she married in a civil ceremony in 1943, just before he shipped out for
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
military duty. Upon completion of her training, she returned to
Hope, Arkansas
Hope is a city in Hempstead County in southwestern Arkansas, United States. Hope is the county seat of Hempstead County and the principal city of the Hope Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Hempstead and Nevada counties. As of t ...
. When her husband was discharged after the war, he picked her up and they moved for four months to
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
.
She moved back to her parents' house while she and William were in the process of getting a new home in the Hope area. While William was on his way back to Hope, he was killed in an automobile accident, three months before the birth of their son,
Bill III. Virginia later spent time in
training to be a nurse anesthetist. In 1950, Virginia married car salesman
Roger Clinton Sr., the father of the second of her two boys. Roger Clinton Sr. was an alcoholic and was physically and mentally abusive to Virginia and her boys. He did not adopt Bill, but Bill took his surname legally in 1962. He told his mother that it would be easier if they all had the same last name. Roger Sr. and Virginia divorced in 1962 but remarried each other a few months later.
Last years
Following Roger's death from
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
in 1967, Virginia Clinton married hairdresser
Jeff Dwire in 1969; he subsequently died of complications of
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
in 1974. On January 17, 1982, she married Richard Kelley (1915–2007), an executive at a food distribution brokerage firm. Their marriage lasted until her death on January 6, 1994, from complications of
breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...
, at the age of 70, at her home in
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...
. She died just under a year after
her son became the 42nd president of the United States on January 20, 1993. She is buried alongside her first husband
William J. Blythe at
Rose Hill Cemetery in Hope, Arkansas.
Before her death, she was interviewed by
Connie Chung
Constance Yu-Hwa Chung (born August 20, 1946) is an American journalist. She has been an anchor and reporter for the U.S. television news networks NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and MSNBC. Some of her more famous interview subjects include Claus von BÃ ...
and spoke about both of her sons.
In 1998, Bill Clinton recounted that his mother, along with his wife and
John Lewis
John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...
, was one of the earliest supporters for his initial presidential campaign.
References
* Clinton, Bill ''My Life'', Knopf (June 22, 2004);
* Kelley, Virginia ''Leading with My Heart'' (with James Morgan), Pocket; ,
External links
Autobiographyat
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...
''Washington Post'' Obituary*
Virginia Clinton Kelley Breast Cancer fundVirginia Clinton Kelleyat
Findagrave.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelley, Virginia Clinton
1923 births
1994 deaths
American nurses
American women nurses
Advanced practice registered nurses
Baptists from Louisiana
Burials in Arkansas
Deaths from cancer in Arkansas
People from Nevada County, Arkansas
People from Hope, Arkansas
People from Hot Springs, Arkansas
Deaths from breast cancer
Family of Bill and Hillary Clinton
Mothers of presidents of the United States
Northwestern State University alumni
People from Shreveport, Louisiana
Baptists from Arkansas
20th-century Baptists
20th-century American women