Helen Holt Mollohan, 97, widow of the late West Virginia Congressman Robert H. Mollohan, passed away on August 26 in Arlington, Virginia.
She was born in Glenville, West Virginia on June 27, 1913, a daughter of the late Abraham Lincoln Holt and Cora Edna Shock Holt.
On April 28, 1931, she and her husband were married. Their union lasted nearly 70 years until Rep. Mollohan's death on August 3, 1999.
Mrs. Mollohan was educated at Glenville State College and retained a deep interest in education throughout her entire life. Until recent years, she served actively as President of the Robert H. Mollohan Family Charitable Foundation, which has provided more than $1 million in scholarship and grants to West Virginia students and organizations over the past ten years.
She also served on the Foundation's Scholarship Committee, taking a particular interest in the Foundation's mission to help West Virginia students pursue educational aims that would enable them to remain in West Virginia. Among the many scholarships awarded by the Foundation, the Helen Holt Mollohan Scholarship is given yearly to a deserving female student attending Glenville State College.
Mrs. Mollohan was a member of Eastern Star and the Daughters of the American Revolution. She also enjoyed genealogical research and had traced her family roots to the first paternal Holt ancestor to settle in Tidewater Virginia in the 1660s.
Both the Mollohan and Holt families have long been noted for their public service. Her husband, Robert H. Mollohan, served in the United States Congress for 18 years. Her son, Alan B. Mollohan, has represented West Virginia's First Congressional District since 1983.
Her grandfather was a delegate to the Republican convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln for President. Other members of her extended family include Homer Holt, who served as West Virginia Governor, U.S. Senator Rush D. Holt, and Rush D. Holt II, currently representing New Jersey in Congress.
Other ancestors include two bishops of the United Methodist Church, in which she was baptized in 1913. In later years, she became a member of the First Baptist Church in Fairmont.
A lifelong Democrat, she was a keen observer of the state and national political scene. Mrs. Mollohan stated she particularly admired Adlai Stevenson for his intellect and grasp of world problems. She also had a keen interest in the manner that presidential wives in different administrations handled their roles.
Rep. and Mrs. Mollohan were the parents of three children: Robert Holt Mollohan, husband of the former Nyoka Green, of Grafton; Kathryn Clyne Nelson, wife of Robert Nelson, of Falls Church, Va.; and Rep. Alan B. Mollohan, husband of the former Barbara Whiting, of Fairmont and Washington.
In addition to her parents, Mrs. Mollohan was preceded in death by one sister, Elizabeth, and two brothers, Karl and Ronald.
She is survived by her 3 children, 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild.
On her 95th birthday, Mrs. Mollohan remarked on her full life noting that she and her husband often talked of retiring to Glenville. "Bob got there before I did," she said. "He is buried in the cemetery at Otterbein Methodist Church near Glenville as I will be."
A viewing will be held from 10:00 am to noon Monday at the Otterbein Methodist Church on Route 5 outside of Glenville, followed by a service at the church with the Rev. James B. Johnson presiding. Interment will follow in the church cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Robert H. Mollohan Family Charitable Foundation, 1000 Technology Drive, Suite 2000, Fairmont, WV 26554, for the Helen Holt Mollohan Scholarship program.
Online condolences may be made to the family of Mrs. Mollohan at www.fordfuneralhomes.com
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