Representative Tish Kelly Records
Collection
Identifier: SC 864
Scope and Contents
This collection contains items relating to Tish working in politics. There are letters, re-election notices, and articles about her. There are also three photographs in a separate envelope.
Dates
- Majority of material found within 1983-1996
Access
The collection is open under the rules and regulations of the Institute.
Copyrights
Copyrights to this collection is held by the Institute.
Biography
Patricia “Tish” Kelly was born August 2, 1932 in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. She was born to Brigadier General Leonard Greeley and Jane Greeley and was one of five children. Because of her father, she and her siblings, John, Leonard Jr, Alicia, and Sharon moved around including living in the Philippines. She graduated from Holy Trinity High school in Washington D.C. in 1950. She received her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Maryland. Due to being close to D.C., she begain her career working as an analyst for the National Security Agency. She became a legislative aid for Sentor Wayne Morse of Oregon and then for Congressman Jeffrey Cohelan of California. In addition to working in D.C., she as also fluent in Russian. Tish met her husband, John D. Kelly of Grand Forks, North Dakota at a fundraising dinner in Washington D.D. for President John F. Kennedy. They were married in 1961 and moved to Fargo, North Dakota soon after. It was in Fargo that John would go to have a long and notable career as an attorney with the Vogel law firm and serving as a federal judge. Tish and John had three children, David, Peter, and Daniel. John died in 1998.
In addition to raising her children, Tish continue her public service when she was elected to the North Dakota house of Representatives in 1974 for Distric 21 in Fargo. She served in the Representives House for nine terms and was elected to the Speaker of the House between 1982 and 1984. She was the only the second women to do so. She retired from office from 1994. In addition to serving in the state legislature, she served on many different boards, such as North Dakota Municipal Bond Band Advisory Board, North Dakota Film Commission, and the Advisory Board of Minnesota Public Radio, among others. She also volunteered as a court advocate at the Fargo Rape and Abuse Crisis Center.
Tish Kelly died July 12, 2019 in her home of natural causes.
In addition to raising her children, Tish continue her public service when she was elected to the North Dakota house of Representatives in 1974 for Distric 21 in Fargo. She served in the Representives House for nine terms and was elected to the Speaker of the House between 1982 and 1984. She was the only the second women to do so. She retired from office from 1994. In addition to serving in the state legislature, she served on many different boards, such as North Dakota Municipal Bond Band Advisory Board, North Dakota Film Commission, and the Advisory Board of Minnesota Public Radio, among others. She also volunteered as a court advocate at the Fargo Rape and Abuse Crisis Center.
Tish Kelly died July 12, 2019 in her home of natural causes.
Extent
2 Items (62 pages and 3 photographs. Her obituary is part of the collection.)
Language of Materials
English
Overview
This collection contains items relating to Tish working in politics. There are letters, re-election notices, and articles about her. There are also three photographs in a separate envelope.
Provenance
Donated by Lois Schneider on June 24, 2016 (Acc. 2016-030irs).
Property Rights
The Institute for Regional Studies owns the property rights to this collection.
- Title
- Finding Aid to the Representative Tish Kelly Records
- Description rules
- Appm
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the Institute for Regional Studies Repository
Contact:
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu
West Building N
3551 7th Avenue North
Fargo North Dakota 58102 United States
ndsu.archives@ndsu.edu