Tag: He Was

Three of Hollings' children announced his death Saturday morning in a statement. “Our father, Fritz Hollings, was dedicated to his family, the United States Senate and the people of South Carolina," said the statement from Michael Hollings, Helen Hollings Reardon and Ernest Hollings III. He was so honored to have served the people of this great state in the South Carolina House of Representatives, as lieutenant governor and governor, and as a member of the United States Senate. He served as governor from 1959 to 1963. He graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1947 and was elected to the S.C. House in 1948 at age 26. A decade later, at age 36, Hollings was elected governor of South Carolina, the youngest South Carolina governor in the 20th century. Though he arrived in politics as a segregationist, his mindset changed during the Civil Rights era. “Asking to have one’s name removed from a courthouse is unprecedented,” U.S. District Judge Richard Gergel said in 2015. “Senator Hollings told me, ‘They put my name on the courthouse because I got funding for it. I want to put it in the name of the guy who did justice here.’" While fighting for balanced budgets and economic investment, Hollings also championed legislation to offer assistance to those in need.