Cecil H. Underwood

Cecil H. Underwood
Underwood from The Monticola, 1959
25th & 32nd Governor of West Virginia
In office January 13, 1997 – January 15, 2001
Preceded by	Gaston Caperton
Succeeded by	Bob Wise
In office January 14, 1957 – January 16, 1961
Preceded by	William C. Marland
Succeeded by	William Wallace Barron
Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates for Tyler County
In office January 1944 – January 14, 1957
Personal details
Born	Cecil Harland Underwood (1922-11-05)November 5, 1922 Josephs Mills, West Virginia
Died	November 24, 2008(2008-11-24) (aged 86) Charleston, West Virginia
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Hovah Hall Underwood (1948-2004; her death)
Profession	Educator
Religion	Methodist

Cecil Harland Underwood (November 5, 1922 – November 24, 2008) was an American Republican Party politician from West Virginia, known for the length of his career.

He was the 25th and 32nd Governor of West Virginia from 1957-61, and from 1997-2001. He ran for reelection in 2000 but was defeated by Bob Wise. Underwood was both the youngest and the oldest person ever to serve as Governor of West Virginia. He was also the first guest on the television game show To Tell the Truth. He was a Methodist.

Underwood was born in 1922 in Josephs Mills, West Virginia, the son of Della N. (née Forrester) and Silas Henry Underwood. He labored on farms during The Great Depression. He graduated from Tyler County High School in 1939.

After graduation, he became an Army reservist during World War II before enrolling in Salem College in Harrison County. He graduated in 1943, where he had been elected president of the student body and a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.

After college, he taught high school biology in St. Marys, Pleasants County, West Virginia from 1943-46.

While at Salem College, he met his future wife, Hovah Hall through her two sisters who were his classmates. They were wed on July 25, 1948 at Knotts Methodist Church in Grantsville.