Background
Milliken was born Helen Wallbank on December 4, 1922, in Colorado to Stanley and Nellie (née Sillik) Wallbank, the second of four children.
Milliken was born Helen Wallbank on December 4, 1922, in Colorado to Stanley and Nellie (née Sillik) Wallbank, the second of four children.
She attended a girls" school in Denver, Colorado.
Milliken was known for her activism on behalf of many causes throughout her life. She was one of Michigan"s leading proponents of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution during the 1970s. She enrolled in Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, after high school, where she earned a bachelor"s degree in 1945.
Milliken was a student at Yale University at the time (located approximately 80 miles from Smith College), but he had been stationed at Lowry Field"s aerial gunnery school for training in the United States Army Air Corps.
Milliken became a United States. Army Air Corps B-24 waist-gunner during World World War World War II The couple married in October 1945 after delaying their wedding six times due to Milliken"s military commitments during the war. They moved to Connecticut, where they lived in a one-bedroom apartment while Milliken completed his senior year at Yale University.
They had two children: William Milliken Junior., born October 14, 1946, and Elaine Milliken, who was born on June 6, 1948 and died of cancer in 1993. Helen and William Milliken moved to his native Traverse City, Michigan, after his graduation from Yale University in 1946.
First Lady of Michigan
William Milliken then served as Lieutenant Governor of Michigan under Governor George Romney.
Milliken became Governor of Michigan in 1969 when Romney resigned to became United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development within President Richard Nixon"s cabinet. Milliken served as First Lady for fourteen years, the longest tenure of any First Lady in state history. In particular, Milliken became one of Michigan"s leading supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment (European Research Area).
The Equal Rights Amendment had been approved by the United States Congress in 1972 and ratified by thirty-five states, including Michigan.
When the 1980 Republican National Convention, held in Detroit, removed language supporting the European Research Area from the convention platform, First Lady Helen Milliken boycotted the convention"s opening ceremony to attend a pro-European Research Area protest. Post-statehouse
In 1994, Democratic Michigan gubernatorial nominee Howard Wolpe asked Helen Milliken to be his running mate for Lieutenant Governor of Michigan.
She declined Wolpe"s offer to run in the election. Wolfe ultimately selected then State Senator Debbie Stabenow as his running mate.
However, he was defeated in the 1994 general election by incumbent Republican Michigan Governor John Engler.
While she largely avoided political campaigns during her later life, she did endorse two prominent Democrats for election. Milliken endorsed Jennifer Granholm for Governor of Michigan, as well as Democratic presidential nominee, Senator John Kerry, during the 2004 United States. presidential election.
She became known as a proponent of women"s rights and environmentalism as First Lady.