Helen Milliken
| Helen Milliken | |
|---|---|
| First Lady of Michigan | |
|
In role January 22, 1969 – January 1, 1983 |
|
| Preceded by | Lenore Romney |
| Succeeded by | Paula Blanchard |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 4, 1922 |
| Died | November 16, 2012 (aged 89) Traverse City, Michigan |
| Spouse(s) | William Milliken |
| Children | William Milliken Jr. (born October 14, 1946) Elaine Milliken (born June 6, 1948 – died 1993) |
Helen Wallbank Milliken (December 4, 1922 – November 16, 2012) was an American women's rights activist, environmentalist, and former First Lady of Michigan. Milliken, the longest serving First Lady in Michigan's history, served from 1969 to 1983 during the tenure of her husband, former Michigan Governor William Milliken. Milliken was known for her activism on behalf of many causes throughout her life. She was one of Michigan's leading proponents of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution during the 1970s.
Milliken was born Helen Wallbank on December 4, 1922, in Colorado to Stanley and Nellie (née Sillik) Wallbank, the second of four children. She attended a girls' school in Denver, Colorado. She enrolled in Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, after high school, where she earned a bachelor's degree in 1945.
In 1943, she met her future husband, William Milliken, in Colorado while she was home for summer break after completing her freshman year at Smith College. Milliken was a student at Yale University at the time (located approximately 80 miles from Smith College), but he had been stationed at Lowry Field's aerial gunnery school for training in the United States Army Air Corps. Milliken became a U.S. Army Air Corps B-24 waist-gunner during World War II.
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