Mrs. C. W. Tillett, Jr.
She holds a high political position, but her
office interests her more from an educa¬
tional standpoint than it does from a po¬
litical angle.
LADYS . . . dispeller of evils,
such as blues; dispenser of
evils, such as probation;
write-ups won't express Gladys. We
might put in the longest sort of list
of complimentary adjectives, hut she's
had enough bouquets thrown nt her
already.”
This was the opinion the 1915 grad¬
uating class at the Woman's College
of the University of North Carolina
had about Mrs. Charles W. Tillett.
Jr., recently elected assistant chair¬
man of the Democratic National
Committee for the second time. And
since she was in college, Gladys Avery
Tillett has continued to catch bou¬
quets, honors, and offices at an amaz¬
ing rate.
Shortly after her marriage to
Charles Tillett, Gladys put her first
political iron in the fire, and organ¬
ized the first county League of Wom¬
en Voters in North Carolina. In
1934 she served as its state president.
First Official Job in 1936
Her first official job for the Demo¬
cratic National Committee was in
1936. when she was chairman of the
speakers’ bureau for the women’s divi¬
sion. Her wide-awake campaigning
during that election and her efficiency
as chairman of the entire women's
division led nation-wide syndicated
columns to speculate on whether she
would possibly be a candidate for
Congress from the new Tenth Dis¬
trict. However, she immediately
denied any such intentions.
Politics? Maybe. But one of her
friends and college classmates says
of her, “As for her work. I have heard
her say that she considers it educa¬
tional and not political — that her de¬
sires are to interpret democracy in its
most comprehensive meaning and ex¬
plain and advance its principles and
Concepts; that she is not interested in
politics at all as such.”
Mrs. Tillett is the daughter of the
late Judge A. S. Avery of the North
Carolina Supreme Court and Mrs.
Avery of Morganton, Burke County.
She is a granddaughter of Waight-
still Avery, first chief justice of the
state supreme court. Her brother,
Isaac Erwin Avery, received much
By BETTY BOO ICE
notice as a poet and journalist.
She entered Woman's College (then
State Normal and Industrial College)
in 1909. but after her sophomore year
she dropped out to teach. She re¬
entered college in 1913.
“The fact that she had been at
W. ( ’. before,” says one of her class¬
mates, “plus her interim of teaching,
probably gave her a better perspective
than the rest of us had. She could
see the pattern as a whole, not just
day by day. Apparently she was one
of those rare persons who seem able
not only to meet any situation but to
master it. She was a clear thinker;
her mind darting straight to the core
of anything and ignoring non-
essentials. She was voted the most
charming member of our class — and
she really is a charming person. Most
people who are gracious and charm¬
ing are, 1 think, rather complacent,
rather slow-witted, not given to delv¬
ing deep into a subject, hut not so
Gladys. There is nothing superficial
about her.”
By the student body she was voted
“most magnetic" and “best executive.”
During her senior year, student
government was begun. To prove
their faith in her ability ns a leader,
the student body chose Gladys as it-
first president; at that time the
highest student office on the campus.
It was during that year, too, that
tradition was exploded and the girl-
were allowed to have men at their jun¬
ior-senior banquet. Gladys' escort
was Charles W. Tillett.
Married in 1918
After graduation she went to the
University of North Carolina at
('Impel Hill for her A.B. degree. Mr.
Tillett, whom she married in 191S.
had been graduated from the Uni¬
versity and had received his law
training there. At Carolina. Gladys
was secretary of one of the first co-ed
associations to he established on the.
campus.
Mrs. Tillett has three children, none
of whom has yet begun a political
career. However, Gladys (Jr.) the
eldest, was president of the Young
Democrats Club at Woman’s College
a couple of years ago, which may
make her a potential politico. Charles,
III, was editor of the annual at the
University of North Carolina last
year, hut insists that it was not power
politics that got him in. And Sara,
°f prop-school ago, just can’t be
bothered.
Mrs. Tillett*» other offices, which
lor a while must be subordinated to
her new position, include membership
on the public affairs commission of
the National Board of the Y. W.
A.; on the North Carolina Board
<»f Charities and Public Welfare: and
in the Charlotte Little Theater.
In her college annual there is a
quoted remark after each girl’s name
— supposed to be the one which that
particular student was known for
having used often. This one was
quoted for Mrs. Tillett: "When we
were in New York — There was
another distinction, though, which
apparently was a more satisfactory
key to her character:
“One who never turned her back
but marched breast forward;
Never doubted clouds would break;
Never dreamed, though right were
worsted, wrong would triumph.”
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