- Carole Hillard
Carole Hillard (
August 14 ,1936 –October 25 ,2007 ) was the first woman to serve as Lieutenant Governor ofSouth Dakota . Hillard was born inDeadwood, South Dakota , August 14, 1936 to Edward Rykema and Vernell Peterson, she was one of three daughters born to them. She graduated from theUniversity of Arizona in 1957 with an undergraduate degree. She subsequently earned a master's degree in education fromSouth Dakota State University in 1982 and then a master's degree in political science at theUniversity of South Dakota in 1984.She married John Hillard. Together they had 5 children all of them married with children. She also had 18 grandchildren and 2 great-grandchildren. She was a big part of all of their lives and she is missed by them all.Hillard then 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 from Rapid City.Hillard, a Republican, served with Governor
Bill Janklow , from 1995 to 2003. She was instrumental in the foundation of the Rapid City women's shelter and the Cornerstone Rescue Mission and was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in 2007.Hillard suffered a spinal fracture and three broken ribs on
October 8 ,2007 while sailing on a boat with friends in theAdriatic Sea . She underwent surgery inZagreb, Croatia two days later. OnOctober 19 ,2007 , she was hospitalized while inSwitzerland before she was to return home in South Dakota. She had developed pneumonia, a bacterial blood infection and had a series of strokes.Hillard died at University Hospital in
Lausanne, Switzerland onOctober 25 ,2007 . She was 71 years of age.External links
* [http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2007/10/25/news/top/doc4720aa888042c969037333.txt Obituary] from the "
Rapid City Journal "
* [http://www.southdakotamagazine.com/?p=1788 Carole Hillard, South Dakota Magazine]
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