Harriet Cameron Belchic was a 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...

 political activist from Shreveport, Louisiana

Shreveport, Louisiana

Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....

, who was also the first woman ever granted both bachelor of science

Bachelor of Science

A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...

 and master of science

Master of Science

A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...

 degrees in geology

Geology

Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...

 from Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University

Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...

 in Baton Rouge. She served on the Shreveport Women's Commission and the Louisiana Federation of Republican Women.

Early life and education

Belchice was born in Tiffin

Tiffin, Ohio

Tiffin is a city in and the county seat of Seneca County, Ohio, United States. The population was 18,135 at the 2000 census. The National Arbor Day Foundation has designated Tiffin as a Tree City USA....

 and her family moved to Winnfield, Louisiana

Winnfield, Louisiana

Winnfield is a city in and the parish seat of Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census. It has long been associated with the Long faction of the Louisiana Democratic Party and was home to three governors of Louisiana.-Geography:Winnfield is located at ...

, the seat of Winn Parish. She graduated from Winnfield High School and attended Louisiana State University.

Career

An advocate of a two-party system, Belchic was vice-chairman of the Louisiana Republican Party from 1962–1968. She held a seat on the party's 144-member State Central Committee for more than twenty years. She was elected delegate to numerous Republican national conventions

United States presidential nominating convention

A United States presidential nominating convention is a political convention held every four years in the United States by most of the political parties who will be fielding nominees in the upcoming U.S. presidential election...

. She was a southern floor leader for then U.S. Senator Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 at the 1964 presidential nominating convention. Belchic was district chairman of Women for Nixon in 1968 and was an alternate delegate for George Herbert Walker Bush in both the 1988 and the 1992.

She became a member of the Shreveport Women's Republican Club in 1954.

Active in local civic affairs, Belchic was appointed by Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 John B. Hussey

John Brennan Hussey

John Brennan Hussey , an attorney who specializes in contracts, served for two terms as the Democratic mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana. Before serving as mayor, he was a member of the Shreveport City Council, serving as its chairman in 1980.He defeated then Democrat Donald W...

 and Republican Mayor Hazel F. Beard

Hazel Beard

Hazel Fain Beard is the first woman and the first Republican to have served as mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, since the era of Reconstruction. A fiscal conservative, Mrs...

 to the Shreveport Women's Commission, having served from 1988 to 1994. Beard also named her to the Riverfront Redevelopment Advisory Committee.

Death and afterward

Belchic died at her home in Shreveport on February 12, 1999 after a long illness. Services were held at St. Paul's Church on February 17, 1999. Graveside rites were private. She was survived by her husband, Dr. George A. Belchic, Jr., a Shreveport orthopedic surgeon

Surgeon

In medicine, a surgeon is a specialist in surgery. Surgery is a broad category of invasive medical treatment that involves the cutting of a body, whether human or animal, for a specific reason such as the removal of diseased tissue or to repair a tear or breakage...

; her son, George Cameron Belchic (January 24, 1960 - January 31, 2007) and wife Angelia Steele Belchic of Decatur, Alabama

Decatur, Alabama

Decatur is a city in Limestone and Morgan Counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The city, affectionately known as "The River City", is located in Northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake, along the Tennessee River. It is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County...

; three daughters, Katherine Mitchell Belchic (January 13, 1953 - October 9, 2007) of Shreveport and her then husband, Michael Rolland, both then of New Orleans, Ellen Belchic Hutchison (born 1955) and then husband Bruce R. Hutchison (born 1957), of New Orleans, and Martha Cameron Belchic-Loeb (born 1956) of Shreveport; her brother Wheelock Cameron and wife Virginia Cameron of Fort Walton Beach, Florida

Fort Walton Beach, Florida

Fort Walton Beach is a city in southern Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. As of 2005, the population estimate for Fort Walton Beach was 19,992, and as of 2010, the population estimate for Fort Walton Beach is 19,507 recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau...

; her brother-in-law, Albert Mitchell Belchic of New Orleans; a nephew, Gregory Martin Cameron and wife Virginia Cameron of
Seaford

Seaford, Virginia

Seaford is an unincorporated community in York County, Virginia, United States, on the Virginia Peninsula.-History:John Chisman patented on Crab Neck in 1636 and began the Seaford Settlement. The area was originally called Crab Neck, Crab Rock and Calamar. The Crab Neck post office was...

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

; seven grandchildren, Ellen Virginia Emory, Margarite Rolland, Michelle Rolland, Mary Katherine VanGeffen, Cameron Rolland Bryant, Martha Calvin Rolland, Sarah Vivian Belchic; a great niece, Lindsay Cameron.

Louisiana state Senator

Louisiana State Legislature

The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...

 Ron Bean

Ron Bean

Ronald Clarence Bean, known as Ron Bean , was a Republican state senator from Shreveport, Louisiana, between 1992 and 2004, who was hailed by his peers for nonpartisanship. Moreover, he was a United States Army soldier with service in South Korea and Vietnam and a pilot decorated for heroism...

 described Belchic as the "dean of Republican women in the state of Louisiana, and a fine friend of mine. She worked when nobody else would ... She will be remembered as somebody who provided lots of leadership ... She would want to be remembered as someone who helped even the smallest candidate run for public office, all the way up to someone running for governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

."