About Helen Delich Bentley
Helen Bentley (née Delich; November 28, 1923 – August 6, 2016) was an American politician who was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Maryland from 1985 to 1995. Before entering politics, she had been a leading maritime reporter and journalist. == Early life == Bentley was born in the copper-mining town of Ruth, Nevada. Her parents were immigrant Serbians, and her father was a miner. When Bentley was eight years old, her father died of silicosis, a common miner's disease, and Bentley took a part-time job in a dress shop while her mother took in boarders to support the family. While at high school, she had her first experiences of journalism and politics while working on the weekly newspaper of Ely, Nevada, which was published by Republican state legislator Charles Russell. She won scholarships to study journalism at the University of Missouri, graduating in 1944 after earning a BA degree with honors. While at college, she worked on the successful U.S. Senate campaign of Nevada Democrat James G. Scrugham, and was appointed his Senate secretary. == Career == === Journalism === After she graduated, Bentley worked for small-town newspapers in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Lewiston, Idaho, but she wanted to report hard news for a larger publication; at the time, most female journalists were limited to writing society news. She wrote to all the main East Coast newspapers and, in 1945, The Baltimore Sun offered her a reporting position.
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