Merle Grace Kearns (May 19, 1938 – August 9, 2014) was a member of the
Ohio House of Representatives
The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate.
The House of Representatives first met in ...
. She represented the 72nd House District and served as majority leader in the 126th General Assembly.
Prior to her stint in the Ohio House, Kearns was a member of the
Ohio Senate
The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of t ...
from 1991 to 2000, representing the 10th Senate District.
Formative years and family life
Born in
Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
The Borough of Bellefonte is a borough in and the county seat of Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is approximately 12 miles northeast of State College and is part of the State College, Pennsylvania metropolitan statistical area. ...
on May 19, 1938, Kearns received her bachelor's degree in home economics from
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...
.
Kearns lived 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 ...
.
Public service career
Early on, during her public service career, Kearns served as a county commissioner in
Clark County, Ohio
Clark County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 136,001. Its county seat and largest city is Springfield. The county was created on March 1, 1818, and was nam ...
.
Prior to her election to the
Ohio House of Representatives
The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate.
The House of Representatives first met in ...
, Kearns served in the
Ohio Senate
The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of t ...
from 1991 to 2000, representing the 10th district.
She then represented the 72nd district in the Ohio House of Representatives, where she was elected as majority leader during the 126th General Assembly.
Death
Kearns died in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
on August 9, 2014.
Votesmart.org.-Merle Grace Kearns
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References
External links
Profile on the Ohio Ladies Gallery website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kearns, Merle G.
Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives
21st-century members of the Ohio General Assembly
2014 deaths
Republican Party Ohio state senators
County commissioners in Ohio
Women state legislators in Ohio
1938 births
People from Bellefonte, Pennsylvania
Politicians from Springfield, Ohio
Ohio State University alumni
21st-century American women politicians