Statesman. Soldier. Professor. Author. Advocate. Jay Cole, senior advisor to the president at West Virginia University, believes those words personified Ken Hechler, who passed away Saturday.
Hechler, a West Virginia icon who has served the state in a variety of ways, was 102 years old.
“Ken Hechler’s career is a long and bright thread woven into the quilts of both West Virginia and American politics,” says Cole.
Hechler earned a doctorate in political science and had already taught at Columbia and Barnard before being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942.
In 1949, Hechler began a four-year term as research director and speechwriter for President Harry Truman. He also served as research director for Adlai Stevenson’s unsuccessful 1956 run for the presidency. “I found his whole life fascinating but as a Truman Scholar, I particularly enjoyed hearing his stories about working with President Truman,” remembers Cole, who can be reached for additional comment at jay.cole@mail.wvu.edu.
Hechler arrived in the Mountain State in 1957 to teach political science, but, after just one year, began a life of public service and advocacy.
West Virginians elected him to the U.S. House of Representatives, beginning an 18-year career as congressman that included drafting an early civil rights bill, primary sponsorship of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, fighting corruption within the United Mine Workers of America, advocating for better health, safety, and environmental legislation and calling for an end to mountaintop removal mining of coal. Hechler was also the only congressman to march with King in Selma, Ala., in 1965.
Hechler returned to West Virginia to serve as Secretary of State from 1985 to 2001.
After his retirement, he remained active by traveling the country to speak about his broad experience and knowledge. “Ken was a wise and wonderful person, and his passing leaves a void that can never be filled,” says Cole.
In 2010, Hechler received the WVU Center for Black Culture and Research’sMartin Luther King, Jr. Achievement Award.
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