Ceremony Held In Honor of the 100th Anniversary of the Birth of Virginia Clinton Kelly
A short, lovely ceremony was held by the Hempstead County Democratic Party Tuesday (6-6) to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Virginia Clinton Kelly, mother of President Bill Clinton. The ceremony was held at Kelly’s gravesite in Rose Hill cemetery. Dr. Linda Clark voiced the opening prayer and offered short remarks about Kelly’s life and her devotion and support of her son. Local minister and JP Jessie Henry offered remarks and Margaret Ross delivered a short, appropriate poem. Retired Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Jim Gunter voiced the closing prayer.
Kelly was born in Bodcaw and grew up and graduated from the Hope Public Schools. Following high school she followed her mother into nursing and studied in Shreveport. She married President Clinton’s father, Bill Blythe although he died in a freak car accident a few months before his son’s birth. Following his death, Kelly studied to be a nurse-anesthetist in New Orleans and returned to Hope to work. She married Roger Clinton in 1950 and he operated a Buick dealership in Hope for several years before the family moved to Hot Springs. While her husband never adopted the future president, her son legally took his last name.
Kelly was a great supporter of her son’s political career and became a celebrity in her own right after his election. She wrote a well-received biography, “Leading With My Heart” and when she passed away, dozens of well-known figures attended her burial ceremony in Hope including Barbra Streisand.
The Clinton/Kelly/Cassidy family plot is well-marked in Hope’s Rose Hill Cemetery and the public is welcome to visit.