Misplaced Pages

Martha Keys

Article snapshot taken from[REDACTED] with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
(Redirected from Martha Elizabeth Keys) American politician (1930–2024) For the American Christian minister, see Martha Jayne Keys.
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Martha Keys" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Martha Keys
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kansas's 2nd district
In office
January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1979
Preceded byWilliam R. Roy
Succeeded byJames E. Jeffries
Personal details
BornMartha Elizabeth Ludwig
(1930-08-10)August 10, 1930
Hutchinson, Kansas, U.S.
DiedDecember 19, 2024(2024-12-19) (aged 94)
Locust Grove, Virginia, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
Sam Keys ​ ​(m. 1949; div. 1975)​
Andrew Jacobs, Jr. ​ ​(m. 1976; sep. 1981)​
Children4
RelativesGary Hart (brother-in-law)
EducationUniversity of Missouri–Kansas City (BA)

Martha Elizabeth Keys (née Ludwig; August 10, 1930 – December 19, 2024) was an American politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Kansas from 1975 to 1979.

Early life and education

Keys was born in Hutchinson, Kansas, the daughter of Clara Krey and S.T. Ludwig. Keys graduated from Paseo High School in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1945. She attended Olivet College from 1946 to 1947 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Missouri–Kansas City in 1951.

Career

Keys was a Democratic campaigner in 1964 and 1968. She ran the McGovern presidential campaign in Kansas in 1972. When Bill Roy retired from the U.S. Congress, her brother-in-law Senator Gary Hart, a Colorado Democrat, persuaded her to run for the seat.

She was elected a Democrat to the United States House of Representatives from Manhattan, Kansas in 1974 and served two terms before being defeated for reelection in 1978. While serving in the House of Representatives, Keys and her husband divorced, and she was remarried to fellow Congressman Andrew Jacobs Jr. They separated in 1981 and eventually divorced.

She then served as a special adviser to the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare from February 1979 to May 1980 and as an assistant secretary of education from June 1980 to January 1981. In 1982, Keys was elected to the Common Cause National Governing Board. Afterwards, she worked as a consultant and as director of the Center for a New Democracy from 1985 to 1986.

Personal life and death

She married Sam Keys, a university professor and, later, dean of the College of Education at Kansas State University. Keys's sister, Lee, was married to former U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Gary Hart until her death in 2021. Keys died in Locust Grove, Virginia, on December 19, 2024, at the age of 94.

See also

References

  2. "Mary Bono and Connie Mack divorce: 'Life really changed' after election losses". Washington Post. May 29, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
  3. "Lee Hart, Wife of Ex-Senator Gary Hart, Dies at 85". The New York Times. The Associated Press. April 11, 2021. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
  4. Harvel, Jack (December 20, 2024). "'A groundbreaking woman': Former Kansas Congresswoman Martha Keys dies at 94". Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  5. "Former Kansas Congresswoman Martha Keys dies at 94". KSN. Retrieved December 20, 2024.

External links

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded byWilliam R. Roy Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kansas's 2nd congressional district
1975–1979 		Succeeded byJames E. Jeffries
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kansas
1st district
2nd district
3rd district
4th district
5th district
6th district
7th district
8th district
At-large
Territory
Kansas's delegation(s) to the 94th–95th United States Congress (ordered by seniority)
94th Senate: House:
95th Senate: House:
Categories:
Martha Keys Add topic