Dale Edward Kildee (September 16, 1929 – October 13, 2021) was an American politician who served as

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

from 1977 to 2013. He was a member of the Democratic Party. His district included

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of ...

and Bay City. In July 2011, Kildee announced he would retire after his term was up in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

.Rep. Dale Kildee to retire after 18 terms
''The Hill'' July 15, 2011 He was succeeded by his nephew

Dan Kildee Daniel Timothy Kildee (; born August 11, 1958) is an American politician who served as a United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from Michigan from 2013 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Par ...

Early life, education, and teaching career

Kildee was born in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

on September 16, 1929 to Timothy and Norma (Ullmer) Kildee. He was the fourth of five children. In his senior year of high school, he won the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

Medal of Citizenship. In 1947, Kildee received his high school diploma from St. Mary's High School. He earned his

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

from Sacred Heart Seminary in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

in 1952. He earned a teacher's certificate from the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catho ...

in 1955. He did graduate work in history and political science at the

University of Peshawar The University of Peshawar (; ; ; abbreviated UoP; known more popularly as Peshawar University) is a public research university located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The university is one of the oldest universities in the provi ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

from 1958 to 1959 under a

Rotary Foundation Fellow The Rotary Foundation is a non-profit corporation that supports the efforts of Rotary International to achieve world understanding and peace through international humanitarian, educational, and cultural exchange programs. It is supported solely b ...

ship. He earned an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

in 1961. He was a teacher at the

University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy The University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy was founded in 1877, and is one of two Society of Jesus, Jesuit high schools in the city of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, the other being Loyola High School (Detroit, Michigan), Loyola High Sc ...

from 1954-56. Coming back in 1956 to Flint, Kildee taught

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

until 1964.

Michigan legislature

Kildee served as a member of the

Michigan State House of Representatives Michigan ( ) is a peninsular state in the Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, Indiana and Illinois to the southwest, Ohio ...

81st district from 1965 to 1974. He then subsequently served as a member of the

Michigan State Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Constitution of Michigan, Mi ...

from 1975 to 1976.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

In 1976, incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative

Donald Riegle Donald Wayne Riegle Jr. ( ; born February 4, 1938) is an American politician, author, and businessman from Michigan. He served for five terms as a Representative and for three terms as a Senator in the U.S. Congress. Early life and family Donal ...

resigned after being appointed to fill the vacant seat in the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

caused by the death of

Philip Hart Philip Aloysius Hart (December 10, 1912December 26, 1976) was an American lawyer and politician. A Democrat, he served as a United States Senator from Michigan from 1959 until his death from cancer in Washington, D.C. in 1976. He was known as ...

. State Senator Kildee won the general election with 70% of the vote. He won re-election 17 times, each with at least 56% of the vote except in 1992, 1994, and 2010. In 1992, he defeated Megan O'Neill with 54% of the vote. He won Genesee County with 74%, while he lost the district's other two counties:

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

and Lapeer. In the 1994 rematch, he defeated her with just 51% of the vote, the lowest winning percentage of his career. In 2010, he defeated Republican farmer and businessman John Kupiec with 53% of the vote. Kupiec won

Tuscola County Tuscola County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the The Thumb, Thumb region of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 53,323. The county seat is Caro, Michigan, Caro. The coun ...

with 60%, while losing the district's other three counties. Kildee won

Bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

(49%),

(61%), and Genesee Counties (55%).

Tenure

In 1997, Kildee founded the House's

Native American Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

Caucus to advocate Native American issues. In 2010, Kildee revealed that he would be voting for the Senate version of the Health Care reform bill without the

Stupak Amendment The Stupak–Pitts Amendment was a proposed amendment to the Affordable Health Care for America Act of 2010 (AHCAA). It was submitted by Representatives Bart Stupak (Democrat of Michigan) and Joseph R. Pitts ( Republican of Pennsylvania). Its sta ...

language restricting federal abortion funding. In addition, reports surfaced that he attempted to convince

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...

Democrats in the Stupak coalition to vote for the bill.

Committee assignments

He was a senior member of the

House Committee on Education and the Workforce The Committee on Education and Workforce is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 45 members of this committee. Since 2025, the chair of the Education and Workforce committee is Republican Tim Walberg of ...

and served as ranking Democrat on the Subcommittee on Education Reform and a member of the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations. He was also a member of the House Committee on Resources, where he sat on the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands and the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health. From 1993 on, he served as co-chair of the Congressional Automotive Caucus. From 1997 on, he served as co-chair of the Native American Caucus.

Personal life

He met his future wife Gayle, a French teacher, while teaching at Central High School. They married in 1965 and had three children, Paul, Laura, and David. Both sons became army captains; their daughter became a commercial property manager. In November 2011, Patrick Kildee, a second cousin of the congressman, accused Kildee of sexually abusing him more than 50 years previously when he was 12 years old. In response Kildee called the allegation untrue.

Death

Kildee died on October 13, 2021, in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

, at the age of 92. Kildee was a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Electoral history

, + : Results 1976–1990 ! Year ! ! Democrat ! Votes ! % ! ! Republican ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % , - ,

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 124,260 , , 70% , , , Robin Widgery , , 50,301 , , 28% , , , Jimmy Sabin , , American Independent , , 1,451 , , 1% , , , Max Duane , , U.S. Labor , , 835 , , 0% , , , Benjamin Hoffman , ,

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

, , 735 , , 0% , - ,

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 105,402 , , 77% , , , Gale Cronk , , 29,958 , , 22% , , , Jimmy Sabin , , American Independent , , 2,179 , , 2% , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 147,280 , , 93% , , , ''No candidate'' , , , , , , , James Beaver , ,

, , 11,507 , , 7% , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 118,538 , , 75% , , , George Darrah , , 36,303 , , 23% , , , Dennis Berry , ,

, align="right" , 1,842 , align="right" , 1% , , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", David Freund , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", Workers League , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", 568 , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", 0% , , , , , , - ,

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 145,070 , , 93% , , , ''No candidate'' , , , , , , , Samuel Johnson , ,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

, align="right" , 10,663 , align="right" , 7% , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 101,225 , , 80% , , , Trudie Callihan , , 24,848 , , 20% , , , Gene Schenk , ,

, align="right" , 1,099 , align="right" , 1% , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 150,832 , , 76% , , , Kevin Cook , , 47,071 , , 24% , , ! style="background:#FF7796 ", Gary Walkowicz , ! style="background:#FF7796 ", Workers Against Concessions , ! style="background:#FF7796 ", 1,174 , ! style="background:#FF7796 ", 1% , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 90,307 , , 68% , , , David Morrill , , 41,759 , , 32% , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , + : Results 1992–2000 ! Year ! ! Democrat ! Votes ! % ! ! Republican ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % , - ,

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 133,956 , , 54% , , , Megan O'Neill , , 111,798 , , 45% , , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", Key Halverson , ! style="background:#00bfff; ",

Natural Law Natural law (, ) is a Philosophy, philosophical and legal theory that posits the existence of a set of inherent laws derived from nature and universal moral principles, which are discoverable through reason. In ethics, natural law theory asserts ...

, ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 1,891 , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 1% , , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", Jerome White , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", Workers League , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", 1,872 , ! style="background:#FF3300; ", 1% , , , , , , - ,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 97,096 , , 51% , , , Megan O'Neill , , 89,148 , , 47% , , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", Karen Blasdell , ! style="background:#00bfff; ",

, ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 3,240 , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 2% , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 136,856 , , 59% , , , Patrick Nowak , , 89,733 , , 39% , , , Malcolm Johnson , ,

, , 3,472 , , 2% , , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", Terrence Shulman , ! style="background:#00bfff; ",

, ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 1,127 , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 0% , , , , , , - ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 105,457 , , 56% , , ,

Tom McMillin Tom McMillin is a member of the Michigan State Board of Education, and a former member of the Michigan State House from 2009 through 2014, representing the Michigan's 45th House of Representatives district, 45th State House district centered in ...

, , 79,062 , , 42% , , , Malcolm Johnson , ,

, , 4,006 , , 2% , , , , , , , , , , , - ,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 158,184 , , 61% , , , Grant Garrett , , 92,926 , , 36% , , , Laurie Martin , ,

, , 5,337 , , 2% , , , Terry Haines , , U.S. Taxpayers , , 1,657 , , 1% , , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", Alaya Bouché , ! style="background:#00bfff; ",

, ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 824 , ! style="background:#00bfff; ", 0% , + : Results 2002–2010 ! Year ! ! Democrat ! Votes ! % ! ! Republican ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! ! Third Party ! Party ! Votes ! % ! , - ,

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 158,709 , , 92% , , , ''No candidate'' , , , , , , , Clint Foster , ,

, align="right" , 9,344 , align="right" , 5% , , , Harley Mikkelson , ,

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

, , 5,188 , , 3% , , - ,

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 208,163 , , 67% , , , Myrah Kirkwood , , 96,934 , , 31% , , , Harley Mikkelson , ,

, , 2,468 , , 1% , , , Clint Foster , ,

, align="right" , 2,350 , align="right" , 1% , , - ,

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 176,171 , , 73% , , , Eric Klammer , , 60,967 , , 25% , , , Ken Mathenia , ,

, , 2,294 , , 1% , , , Steve Samoranski , ,

, , 2,259 , , 1% , , - ,

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 221,841 , , 70% , , , Matt Sawicki , , 85,017 , , 27% , , , Leonard Schwartz , ,

, , 4,293 , , 1% , , , Ken Mathenia , ,

, , 4,144 , , 1% , , - ,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, , , , Dale Kildee , , 107,286 , , 53% , , , John Kupiec , , 89,680 , , 44% , , , J. Matthew de Heus , ,

, , 2,649 , , 1% , , , Michael Moon , ,

, , 2,648 , , 1% ,

References

External links

Official U.S. House webpage
* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kildee, Dale E. 1929 births 2021 deaths American expatriates in Pakistan American Roman Catholics Catholics from Michigan Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Democratic Party Michigan state senators Politicians from Flint, Michigan Schoolteachers from Michigan University of Detroit Mercy alumni University of Michigan alumni University of Peshawar alumni Members of Congress who became lobbyists 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Michigan Legislature