Former Mich. first lady Helen Milliken, women's rights advocate, dies at 89
DETROIT (AP) — Helen Wallbank Milliken, who was Michigan's longest-serving first lady and a staunch supporter of women's rights and environmental protection, has died. She was 89.
Milliken, who spent 14 years as first lady, died on Friday morning at her family's home in Traverse City, her son, William "Bill" Milliken Jr., said. She had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, he said, and was receiving hospice care.
Early in her husband's political career, she dutifully played the role of an unassuming and supportive spouse. But she evolved into an outspoken advocate of issues close to her heart during her record 14 years as Michigan first lady.
She criticized highway billboards as unsightly clutter shortly after her husband, Republican William Milliken, became governor in 1969, drawing the wrath of the outdoor advertising industry. At her urging, her husband hiked the Pigeon River State Forest — after which he decided to limit oil and gas development in the scenic northern Michigan forest.
It was the couple's daughter Elaine, a lawyer and feminist, who died of cancer in 1993, who influenced her mother to take a stand for women's equality. Helen Milliken did so, vigorously campaigning for abortion rights and the ill-fated Equal Rights Amendment, which stated equality of rights "shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex."
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