Wilhelmina_Ruth_Delco
Wilhelmina Delco
American politician (born 1929)
Wilhelmina Ruth Delco (née Fitzgerald; born July 16, 1929) is an American politician who served in the Texas House of Representatives.[1] She was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame in 1986.[2]
Wilhelmina Ruth Delco | |
|---|---|
| Speaker pro tempore of the Texas House of Representatives | |
| In office January 17, 1991 – 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Michael D. McKinney |
| Succeeded by | D. R. Uher |
| Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 50th district | |
| In office January 11, 1983 – January 10, 1995 | |
| Preceded by | René Orlando Oliveira |
| Succeeded by | Dawnna Dukes |
| Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 37-1, 37-D district | |
| In office January 14, 1975 – January 11, 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Larry Bales |
| Succeeded by | Irma Lerma Rangel (Redistricting) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Wilhelmina Ruth Fitzgerald (1929-07-16) July 16, 1929 (age 94) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) |
Exalton A. Delco, Jr.
(m. 1952) |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Fisk University (BA) |
On July 16, 1929, Delco was born as Wilhelmina Ruth Fitzgerald in Chicago, Illinois. Delco's parents were Juanita and William P. Fitzgerald. Delco attended Wendell Phillips Academy High School.
In 1950, Delco earned a BA in sociology at Fisk University.
In 1968, Delco was elected to the board of trustees for the Austin Independent School District, becoming the first African American elected to public office in Austin.[3][1]
Delco was elected to the House of Representatives for Travis County in 1974 and served ten terms in the legislature. From 1979 to 1991, she was chair of the Higher Education Committee for the House. From 1991 to 1993, she was speaker "pro tempore" for the House of Representatives. She retired from the legislature in 1995.[3][4]
She has been chair of the board of trustees for Huston-Tillotson College and adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Austin with the Community College Leadership Program.[3] She has been chair of the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity of the United States Department of Education.[2]
In 1993, she received the James Bryant Conant Award.[5]
Delco's husband is Exalton A. Delco Jr., whom she met in the cafeteria while attending Fisk University.[6] In 1952, Delco and her husband moved to Austin, Texas.
- McCartan, Anne-Marie (2017). Unexpected Influence: Women Who Helped Shape the Early Community College Movement. pp. 103–107. ISBN 978-1475828665.
- "Wilhelmina Ruth Delco". Texas Women's Hall of Fame. Texas Women's University.
- "The Honorable Wilhelmina Delco". The History Makers.
- "Wilhelmina Delco". Texas Legislators: Past & Present. Texas Legislative Reference Library.
- "Honors & Awards". Education Week. September 29, 1993.
- McCray, Marilyn (May 2009). "The Many Lives of Wilhelmina Delco" (PDF). Austin Woman Magazine. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
- Interview with State Representative Wilhelmina Delco, 1984-11-21, In Black America, KUT Radio, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (WGBH and the Library of Congress)