Name Ann Kilgore Role Politician | Died July 20, 2001 | |
Education College of William & Mary | ||
Ann Hitch Kilgore (July 22, 1923 – July 20, 2001) was an American politician. She was mayor of Hampton, Virginia 1963–71 and 1974–78.
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Personal life
Ann Kilgore was born in Portsmouth, Virginia to Edward Ashby Hitch and Marietta Cato Hitch (who was a teacher and principal in Portsmouth). She graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School, the Norfolk Division of The College of William and Mary (now Old Dominion University), and The College of William and Mary. She was an English teacher at Alexander Park High School in Norfolk County and Hampton High School in Hampton Virginia.
She married Edwin Carroll Kilgore in 1944, and they moved to Hampton, Virginia in 1946. They had two children, Ashby Caroline Kilgore and Elizabeth Kilgore Byrd (husband, Richard Kenneth Byrd) and one grandson, Richard Kilgore Byrd. Dr. Ashby Kilgore serves currently as the Superintendent of Newport News Public Schools in nearby Newport News, Virginia.
Political life
Ann Kilgore was elected to the Hampton City Council in1958 and served until she retired in 1980. She was the first woman to serve as the Mayor of Hampton and led the city as its mayor from 1963 to 1971 and again from 1974 to 1978. During her tenure as mayor, the City of Hampton built the Hampton Coliseum, City Hall and police station, and donated land for Thomas Nelson Community College. She successfully integrated Hampton's public schools and businesses without lawsuits, the accomplishment that meant the most to her.