Cecil Underwood; was governor of W. Virginia

CECIL UNDERWOOD (ap/file)

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Cecil Underwood, a high school teacher who went on to hold the distinction of being West Virginia's youngest and oldest governor, died Monday at a Charleston hospital. He was 86.

Mr. Underwood became West Virginia's youngest governor when he won his first term in 1956 at the age of 34. He won his second term 40 years later on his 74th birthday.

"This is a very sad day for all of West Virginia," Governor Joe Manchin said in a statement released by his office. "We have lost a governor who, through his two separate terms, served our state and its citizens with honor and dignity and, most importantly, with class."

Mr. Underwood entered politics at the age of 22, when he successfully ran as a Republican for the state House of Delegates representing Tyler County. After serving six terms in the House, he won his first four-year term as the state's chief executive.

He fought the Democrat-controlled Legislature for four years, but was unable to run for reelection because West Virginia's Constitution then limited a governor to one four-year term.

Mr. Underwood was drafted to run for governor in 1996 and defeated Democrat Charlotte Pritt, carrying 38 of the state's 55 counties.

He called his triumphant return to the governor's office "the most gratifying political experience I ever had."

"He, as an educator, had a long, distinguished service for the State of West Virginia in many capacities," Pritt said this week.

In 2000, Mr. Underwood attempted to serve a consecutive four-year term as governor, but lost to Democrat Bob Wise.

Wise, now president of the Alliance for Excellent Education, said Mr. Underwood devoted his life to West Virginia.

"He left a legacy that in so many ways has improved life for generations of West Virginians," Wise said in a statement. "He constantly demonstrated how to govern effectively in a bipartisan manner. He was a gentleman in the finest sense of the word."

The success of the 1996 election came after several failed attempts to win elected office after his first term as governor.

In 1960, Mr. Underwood unsuccessfully tried to unseat popular US Senator Jennings Randolph. He lost a 1964 attempt to regain the governor's office.

Four years later, he lost the GOP's nomination for governor to US Representative Arch Moore. After losing to Moore in a close primary race, Mr. Underwood went into political exile for eight years.

Mr. Underwood's return to statewide politics in 1976 was not successful. He lost to Democrat Jay Rockefeller by 250,000 votes, the worst defeat in Mr. Underwood's political career.

Mr. Underwood held a number of jobs between his terms as governor, including serving as president of Bethany College.

Born in 1922 in Josephs Mills, Mr. Underwood spent all of his early years in Tyler County, graduating from Tyler County High School in 1939 and Salem College in 1943. He earned a master's degree from West Virginia University in 1952.

A high school teacher from 1943 to 1946, Mr. Underwood joined the staff of Marietta (Ohio) College in 1946. He went to Salem in 1950 as vice president.