Catherine Dean May (May 18, 1914 – May 28, 2004) was a U.S. Representative from Washington.[1] She was the first woman elected to Congress in the state of Washington.
She taught English at Chehalis High School from 1937 to 1940 and was women's editor and a news broadcaster in Tacoma, Washington, in 1941 and 1942.[2] She headed the radio department for a Seattle advertising agency from 1942 to 1943, and a Seattle insurance company from 1943 to 1944. She then became a writer and assistant commentator for the National Broadcasting Company in New York City from 1944 to 1946 before returning to the Northwest to become women's editor at station KIT in Yakima from 1948 to 1957. She worked as an office manager and medical secretary at the Yakima Medical Center in 1957 and 1958 and served as president of Bedell Associates.
Political career
May served as member of the Washington State House of Representatives from 1952 to 1958.[3] She was the first woman from the state of Washington elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
Upon her marriage to Donald W. Bedell on November 14, 1970, she was known as Catherine May Bedell.
She was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Ninety-second Congress in 1970 and subsequently served on the United States International Trade Commission from 1971 to 1975 and again from 1979 through 1980.[2] In 1982, she was a Special Consultant to the President on the 50 States Project. In 2004, she was the president of Bedell Associates in Palm Desert, California.[1]
^ abcTate, Cassandra (December 2, 2008). "May, Catherine Dean Barnes (Bedell) (1914-2004)". HistoryLink. Retrieved March 17, 2019.
^ abc"Obituaries: Catherine Dean May Bedell, elected to U.S. House 6 times, dies". The Seattle Times. Associated Press. June 3, 2004. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
catherine, dean, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, march, 201. 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 Catherine Dean May news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Catherine Dean May May 18 1914 May 28 2004 was a U S Representative from Washington 1 She was the first woman elected to Congress in the state of Washington Catherine MayMember of the U S House of Representatives from Washington s 4th districtIn office January 3 1959 January 3 1971Preceded byHal HolmesSucceeded byMike McCormackMember of the Washington House of Representatives for the 14th districtIn office 1953 1959Personal detailsBornCatherine Dean Barnes 1914 05 18 May 18 1914Yakima Washington U S DiedMay 28 2004 2004 05 28 aged 90 Rancho Mirage California U S Political partyRepublicanEducationYakima Valley CollegeUniversity of Washington BS University of Southern California Contents 1 Early life education and career 2 Political career 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksEarly life education and career EditMay was born as Catherine Dean Barnes in Yakima Washington and graduated from Yakima Valley Junior College in 1934 She earned her B S from the University of Washington Seattle Washington in 1936 and her teaching certificate in 1937 She attended the University of Southern California in Los Angeles California in 1939 2 She taught English at Chehalis High School from 1937 to 1940 and was women s editor and a news broadcaster in Tacoma Washington in 1941 and 1942 2 She headed the radio department for a Seattle advertising agency from 1942 to 1943 and a Seattle insurance company from 1943 to 1944 She then became a writer and assistant commentator for the National Broadcasting Company in New York City from 1944 to 1946 before returning to the Northwest to become women s editor at station KIT in Yakima from 1948 to 1957 She worked as an office manager and medical secretary at the Yakima Medical Center in 1957 and 1958 and served as president of Bedell Associates Political career EditMay served as member of the Washington State House of Representatives from 1952 to 1958 3 She was the first woman from the state of Washington elected to the U S House of Representatives In 1958 May was elected as a Republican to the Eighty sixth United States Congress She was subsequently re elected five times serving from January 3 1959 until January 3 1971 She was the first woman elected to Congress from Washington While in Congress May served on the House Agriculture Committee ranking member of the House Beauty Shop Committee and the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy 3 Upon her marriage to Donald W Bedell on November 14 1970 she was known as Catherine May Bedell She was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Ninety second Congress in 1970 and subsequently served on the United States International Trade Commission from 1971 to 1975 and again from 1979 through 1980 2 In 1982 she was a Special Consultant to the President on the 50 States Project In 2004 she was the president of Bedell Associates in Palm Desert California 1 She died on May 28 2004 in Rancho Mirage California 3 See also EditWomen in the United States House of RepresentativesReferences Edit a b May Catherine Dean 1914 Women in World History A Biographical Encyclopedia Gale 2002 Retrieved January 7 2013 from HighBeam Research a b c Tate Cassandra December 2 2008 May Catherine Dean Barnes Bedell 1914 2004 HistoryLink Retrieved March 17 2019 a b c Obituaries Catherine Dean May Bedell elected to U S House 6 times dies The Seattle Times Associated Press June 3 2004 Retrieved March 16 2019 United States Congress Catherine Dean May id M000273 Biographical Directory of the United States Congress External links EditA Few Good Women The Honorable Catherine May Bedell This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress U S House of RepresentativesPreceded byHal Holmes Member of the U S House of Representativesfrom Washington s 4th congressional district1959 1971 Succeeded byMike McCormack Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Catherine Dean May amp oldid 1168080913, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
