Gladys Keating
Gladys Brown Keating | |
---|---|
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Fairfax | |
In office January 1978 – January 2000 | |
Preceded by | Jim Dillard |
Succeeded by | Thomas M. Bolvin |
Personal details | |
Born | Gladys Brown August 1, 1923 Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S. |
Died | August 19, 2014 Wilmington, North Carolina, U.S. | (aged 91)
Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse |
John A. Keating
(m. 1950; died 2003) |
Children | 5 |
Education |
|
Gladys Brown Keating (August 1, 1923 – August 19, 2014) was an American civic activist, military spouse and Democratic politician who lived in Fairfax County, Virginia, for 45 years, during 22 of which she represented the 43rd district in the Virginia General Assembly (1978-2000).[1]
Early and family life
Born on the lower east side of
Career
Before her marriage, Gladys worked in an actuarial office with Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in Manhattan, NY. Following her marriage, she accompanied her military husband, started a family and established their household in various locations, including Germany, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Texas.[4]
In 1961, the Keatings moved to
Mrs. Keating also became involved in the local Democratic Party. In 1973 and 1975 she unsuccessfully ran for one of Fairfax County's five seats in what was then a multi-delegate district in the
At the time of her forced retirement in 2000, Keating was the legislature's most senior woman. She had helped form the legislature's Women's Caucus, became known for her support of family law and consumer issues. Legislation she successfully sponsored required equitable distribution in divorces, as well as championed tuition assistance for members of Virginia's National Guard, forbad telephone companies from selling customer lists, required prominent posting of retail stores' return policies, promoted firearms safety and required medical insurance companies to cover mammograms. Keating became the first woman to serve on the Committee on Corporations, Insurance and Banking (eventually becoming its co-chair), as well as the first woman to serve on the Militia and Police Committee (also becoming its chair). She also served on the rules committee, the committee on counties cities and town, and the Virginia Military Advisory Council, as well as represented Virginia at the National Conference of State Legislatures. In the 1999 election, Republican (and insurance agent) Thomas M. Bolvin defeated incumbent Keating. The following election, Bolvin would narrowly win over Democrat Mark Sickles, who had previously worked for Keating, and who defeated Bolvin in 2003 and has won re-election since.[7][8] While Keating remained in northern Virginia, she taught part-time at Northern Virginia Community College, and remained active with the League of Women Voters.[2]
Death and legacy
After a series of strokes in 2006, and the death of her husband in 2003, Keating spent her final years near Wilmington, North Carolina, near some of her children and grandchildren.[3][citation needed] She died of congestive heart failure age 91, at the New Hanover Regional Medical Center. After a service at Olivet Episcopal Church, where Keating long served as lay reader, she was interred at Arlington National Cemetery beside her husband.[4]
During her legislative service, Keating gave an oral history, housed with the University of Mississippi's collection of interviews with Southern women legislators.[9]
References
- ^ a b c "House History". history.house.virginia.gov. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
- ^ a b c "HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 5180". Virginia's Legislative Information System. 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
- ^ a b "John A. Keating". fredericksburg.com. November 22, 2003. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Gladys Keating Obituary". The Washington Post. August 21, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2021 – via legacy.com.
- ^ Cynthia Miller Leonard, The General Assembly of Virginia 1619–1978 (Richmond, Virginia State Library 1978) pp.
- ^ "Virginia Elections Database » Search Candidates". Virginia Elections Database. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- ^ "vpap.org". The Virginia Public Access Project. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- ^ "Sickles, Center Win in Lee District". www.connectionnewspapers.com. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
- ^ "Finding aid for the Southern Women Legislators Collection MUM00422". libraries.olemiss.edu. Retrieved December 21, 2020.