Hugh E. Rodham

Infobox Person
name = Hugh E. Rodham


caption =
birth_date = April 2, 1911
birth_place = Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA
death_date = April 7, 1993 (aged age|1911|4|2|1993|4|7)
death_place = Little Rock, Arkansas, USA
known_for = Father of Hillary Rodham Clinton
occupation =
spouse = Dorothy Howell Rodham
children = Hillary, Hugh, Tony

Hugh Ellsworth Rodham (April 2, 1911 – April 7, 1993) was an American textile wholesaler and father of New York Senator and former First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.

He was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the son of Hugh Rodham and Hannah Jones, [ [http://www.wargs.com/political/rodham.html Ancestry of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton ] ] , British immigrants descended from a line of coal miners from Co. Durham and WalesClinton, Hillary Rodham. "Living History". Simon & Schuster, 2003. ISBN 0-7432-2224-5. pp. 4-9.] [cite web|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-2242236_1,00.html|title=Hillary traces roots to Durham|author=Anna Mikhailova|publisher=The Sunday Times|date=2006-06-25|accessdate=2008-01-31] .

Rodham attended Pennsylvania State University and was a third-string tight end for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team.cite book |last=Bernstein |first=Carl |authorlink=Carl Bernstein |coauthors= |title=A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton |year=2007 |publisher=Knopf |location=New York |isbn=0-3754-0766-9 pp. 16–18.] He joined the Delta Upsilon Fraternity. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education from the College of Education in 1935, at the height of the Great Depression.

He briefly worked for his father's employer, Scranton Lace Company, [http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18491410&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=416046&rfi=6 "Reader Q&A"] , "The Times-Tribune", June 19, 2007. Accessed July 12, 2007.] then freighthopped to Chicago without telling his parents. Rodham found work there selling drapery fabrics around the Midwest, sending the money he made back home.

In 1937, he met Dorothy Emma Howell, who was applying for a job at a textile company that Rodham was making a sales call at. After a lengthy courtship, they married in early 1942. Rodham enlisted in the United States Navy, where he became a Chief Petty Officer stationed at the Great Lakes Naval Station, performing training duties for sailors headed for the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II.

After the war, he began what was to prove to be a very successful career in the textile supply industry, starting with Rodrik Fabrics, a drapery fabric business located in Chicago's famous Merchandise Mart building. He made drapes and window shades; his customers included offices, hotels, airlines, and theatres. He later opened a fabric print plant building on the North Side. Rodham tried politics once, running for Chicago alderman as an independent in 1947; he lost badly to the Richard J. Daley political machine that he was hoping to ingratiate himself with.

The Rodhams had three children: Hillary (born 1947), Hugh (born 1950), and Tony (born 1954). In 1950, they moved to the more affluent Chicago suburb of Park Ridge, Illinois. The family still maintained ties to Scranton; all three children were christened there, and they spent summers at a cottage overlooking Lake Winola located in Overfield Township, Pennsylvania in the nearby Pocono Mountains, that he and his father had built themselves in 1921.cite news | url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20080308_LAKE_WINOLA__Pa__-_Ice_still_covers_the_lake__Shades_NO_HEAD_SPECIFIED.html | title=Sen. Hillary Clinton's girlhood home (sort of) | author=Larry King | publisher="The Philadelphia Inquirer" | date=2008-03-08 | accessdate=2008-03-14]

Rodham was a staunch supporter of Barry Goldwater’s 1964 presidential campaign and remained a committed Republican until his death. Even after his daughter married Democrat Bill Clinton, he (according to Bill Clinton) "never gave up hope that his son-in-law would join him in the Republican Party and support a cut in the capital gains tax." [ [http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/candidates/democrat/clinton/rodham.shtml AllPolitics - Candidates - Democrats ] ]

Hugh Rodham died in Little Rock, Arkansas, on April 7, 1993, and was buried in the Washburn Street Cemetery, Scranton, Pennsylvania, in a funeral that included a Presidential entourage of the Clintons.

ee also

References

External links

* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Rodham&GSfn=Hugh&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=40&GSob=n&GRid=4224& Hugh E. Rodham Memorial] at Find A Grave
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE2D61330F93BA35757C0A965958260 "New York Times" Obituary]