Glenn Miller Wise was a secretary

Secretary

A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...

, statistician

Statistician

A statistician is someone who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. The core of that work is to measure, interpret, and describe the world and human activity patterns within it...

, and Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 politician, who served as Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

's first female Secretary of State

Secretary of State

Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....

 from 1955-57.

Background

She was born Glenn Miller on July 14, 1896, in Wyocena, and grew up in La Valle

La Valle, Wisconsin

La Valle is a village in Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States, along the Baraboo River. The population was 326 at the 2000 census. The village is located within the Town of La Valle.-Geography:La Valle is located at ....

 in Sauk County

Sauk County, Wisconsin

Sauk County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of 2000, the population was 55,225. Its county seat and largest city is Baraboo. Sauk County is included in the Baraboo Micropolitan Statistical Area and in the Madison Combined Statistical Area....

, daughter of country doctor

Country Doctor

-Literature:* "A Country Doctor," a 1919 short story by Franz Kafka* A Country Doctor, an 1884 novel by Sarah Orne Jewett* Le Médecin de campagne , an 1833 novel by Honoré de Balzac-Film:...

 W.J. Miller. She graduated from Reedsburg Area High School, then earned a B.A.

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 at Milwaukee Downer College in 1917, and an M.A. in economics

Economics

Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

 at the University of Wisconsin in 1919.

Career

She was employed as a secretary in the Department of Economics of UW for two years, then went into business as the organizer and director of the Employment Exchange of the Washington School for Secretaries in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, before taking employment as a statistician at the University of Wisconsin. She was active in the Republican Party, being a particularly avid supporter of Wendell Wilkie.

Office

Miller was appointed Secretary of State of Wisconsin

Secretary of State of Wisconsin

The Secretary of State of Wisconsin is an officer of the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin, and the second in the order of succession of the Governor of Wisconsin, behind the Lieutenant Governor....

 by Governor Kohler on Jan. 3, 1955 to fill the vacancy caused by the death in office of Secretary of State Fred R. Zimmerman

Fred R. Zimmerman

Fred R. Zimmerman was a newsboy, milkman, traveling salesman, bookkeeper and Republican politician from Milwaukee, who served as a state representative, 25th Governor of Wisconsin, and Wisconsin Secretary of State. His son Robert C...

, becoming Wisconsin's first woman Secretary of State. Zimmerman's son, Robert C. Zimmerman

Robert C. Zimmerman

Robert C. Zimmerman was Secretary of State of Wisconsin from 1957 until his retirement in 1975....

 defeated her in the 1956 Republican primary

Primary election

A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....

. Wise remained an active and steadfast Republican.

After office

She had married John E. Wise Sr. in 1924; he later became chief electrical engineer for the State of Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

, and died in 1968. Glenn Wise was active in the Presbyterian church and civic activities; when she died at the age of 95, she left behind one son (John Jr.), five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.