Carole Hillard
Encyclopedia
Carole Hillard was the first woman to serve as Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...

.

Personal

Hillard was born in Deadwood, South Dakota
Deadwood, South Dakota
Deadwood is a city in South Dakota, United States, and the county seat of Lawrence County. It is named for the dead trees found in its gulch. The population was 1,270 according to a 2010 census...

, August 14, 1936 to Edward Rykema and Vernell Peterson; she was one of three daughters born to them. She graduated from the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...

 in 1957 with an undergraduate degree. She subsequently earned a master's degree in education from South Dakota State University
South Dakota State University
South Dakota State University is the largest university in the U.S. state of South Dakota, located in Brookings. A public land-grant university and sun grant college, founded under the provisions of the 1862 Morrill Act, SDSU offers programs of study required by, or harmonious to, this Act...

 in 1982 and then a master's degree in political science at the University of South Dakota
University of South Dakota
The University of South Dakota ', the state’s oldest university, was founded in 1862 and classes began in 1882. Located in Vermillion, South Dakota, United States, USD is home to South Dakota's only medical school and law school. USD is governed by the South Dakota Board of Regents, and its current...

 in 1984.

Hillard was married to John Hillard. They had 5 children together, all of whom are married with children. She also had 18 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren.

Politics

Hillard dedicated her life to public service. Her first political experience was serving on the Rapid City Common Council. She was then elected to two terms in the South Dakota House of Representatives
South Dakota House of Representatives
The South Dakota House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Dakota State Legislature. It is made up of 70 members, two from each legislative district...

 from Rapid City
Rapid City, South Dakota
Rapid City is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek on which the city is established, it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. The population was 67,956 as of the 2010 Census. Rapid...

.

Hillard, a Republican, served was elected as Lieutenant Governor in 1994 and re-elected in 1998 as the running mate of Bill Janklow
Bill Janklow
William John "Bill" Janklow served as the 25th Attorney General of South Dakota, before being elected as South Dakota's 27th and 30th Governor, as well as to the United States House of Representatives where he served for a little more than a year. A Republican, Janklow's career has continued as a...

 and served from 1995 to 2003. She was instrumental in the foundation of the Rapid City woman's shelter and the Cornerstone Rescue Mission and was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 2007.

Death

Hillard suffered a spinal fracture and three broken ribs on October 8, 2007 while sailing on a boat with friends in the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...

. She underwent surgery in Zagreb, Croatia two days later. On October 19, 2007, she was hospitalized while in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

 before she was to return home in South Dakota. She had developed pneumonia, a bacterial blood infection and suffered a series of strokes.

Hillard died at University Hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland on October 25, 2007. She was 71 years of age.

External links

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