Sheila Ison Wellstone (August 18, 1944 – October 25, 2002) was the wife of and advisor to United States Senator

Paul Wellstone Paul David Wellstone (July 21, 1944 – October 25, 2002) was an American academic, author, and politician who represented Minnesota in the United States Senate from 1991 until he was killed in a plane crash near Eveleth, Minnesota, in 2002. A m ...

, with whom she died in a plane crash, and an advocate for various causes, particularly prevention of domestic violence. Sheila Ison was born and raised in

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

, where (although the granddaughter of coal miners) she grew up in a middle class Southern Baptist family with two siblings. She was uprooted when as a high school junior her family moved to Washington, DC, where at the age of sixteen whe met and started dating her future husband Paul Wellstone. She attended the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

but dropped out at the age of nineteen to marry Paul, then a student at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. Paul Wellstone's Jewish parents were not at first enthusiastic at the prospect, as Sheila was Christian and in fact her parents were members of a country club that had no Jewish members, but withdrew their objections presently. After her husband finished his PhD in political science, he accepted an offer to teach at

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1866, the main campus is between Northfield and the approximately Carleton ...

Northfield, MN Northfield is a city in Dakota and Rice counties in the state of Minnesota. It is mostly in Rice County, with a small portion in Dakota County. The population was 20,790 at the 2020 census. Northfield is south of the downtowns of Minneapolis ...

, and the couple moved to

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

in 1969. The couple had three children, David, Mark, and Marcia. While in Minnesota, Wellstone worked as a librarian at Northfield High School. She left that position upon her husband's successful campaign to become a

U.S. Senator 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 ...

in 1990. She became an advocate for

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

, the environment, and

peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

. Wellstone focused much of her work on domestic violence, assisting survivors and pursuing policies to support its prevention. In late 2000, she was listed in one news story as a possible candidate for U.S. Senate or

Governor of Minnesota The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory ...

in 2002, but she did not run. While campaigning with her husband in his 2002 re-election campaign, she died in a plane crash near

Eveleth, Minnesota Eveleth is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,493 at the 2020 census. Eveleth is part of the Quad Cities, with Virginia, Gilbert, and Mountain Iron. U.S. Highway 53 and State Highway 37 (MN 37) are ...

, along with her husband and daughter Marcia. The Sheila Wellstone Institute continues her commitment to building power and visibility to ensure that ending violence against women and children is a national priority.

References

External links

Sheila Wellstone's Senate Career
1944 births 2002 deaths Minnesota Democrats People from Northfield, Minnesota Women in Minnesota politics Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Accidental deaths in Minnesota 20th-century American women politicians Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2002 20th-century Minnesota politicians {{US-poli-bio-stub