Helen Walsh Longley (April 11, 1922 – September 13, 2005) was the former First Lady of

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

from 1975 to 1979, and the wife of the U.S. first independent

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

James B. Longley James Bernard Longley Sr. (April 22, 1924 – August 16, 1980) was an American politician. He served as the 69th governor of Maine from 1975 to 1979, and was the first Independent (politics), Independent to hold the office. In 1949, he married th ...

. Longley was born Helen Angela Walsh in

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in Clark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in southwestern Ohio along the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, about west of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus and northeast of ...

. She met her future husband, then a cadet in the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

, in 1943. The couple married in 1949 in

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and moved to

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ) is the List of municipalities in Maine, second most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine, with the city's population at 37,121 as of the 2020 United States census. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, Augusta, the sta ...

. They had five children, including former Republican

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 ...

James B. Longley Jr. (born 1951). As First Lady, Longley was a proponent of the

Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Ol ...

, as well as state medical facilities, including the

Maine Medical Center MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Portland (MMCP), commonly contracted to Maine Med, is a 929-licensed-bed teaching hospital in Portland, Maine, United States. Affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine, it is located in the Western P ...

and Mercy Hospital. Helen Longley died at Mercy Hospital in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, on September 13, 2005, at the age of 83. She was a resident of

Falmouth, Maine Falmouth ( ) is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 12,444 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. A northern suburb of Portland, Falmouth borders Casco Bay a ...

, and a former resident of Lewiston.

References

External links

Bangor Daily News:Helen W. Longley
{{DEFAULTSORT:Longley, Helen 1922 births 2005 deaths First ladies and gentlemen of Maine People from Lewiston, Maine People from Falmouth, Maine People from Springfield, Ohio Women in Maine politics 20th-century American women 20th-century American people 21st-century American women