Former Ohio governor Richard Celeste will visit the Dover Public Library on April 15 at 6:30 p.m. to discuss his book “In the Heart of It All: An Unfiltered Memoir of My Life in Public Service.”
The book recounts his personal and professional life from his roots in Northeast Ohio to his time at Yale, Oxford, Washington, D.C., India, the governor’s mansion, and beyond.
Opinion: Celeste challenged the “cult of universal mediocrity” on university and college campuses
“Regardless of parties, he has a fascinating first-person story of his life in politics, the good, the terrible, and the ugly,” said Jim Gill, director of the Dover library.
Joanne Limbach of New Philadelphia, who served as state tax commissioner during Celeste’s term as governor, stated that she learned things about him through the book that she did not know in the fifty years she has known him.
She stated that Celeste was “a friend of Tuscarawas County” during his tenure as a state legislator in Columbus, advocating a statutory change that led to the establishment of Buckeye Vocational Center. She stated that he was also crucial in improving the equity of library financing.
I believe people enjoyed conversing with and being with him
“He is one of those individuals that genuinely liked politics, and I believe people enjoyed conversing with and being with him. It should be an interesting presentation “Limbach added.
Being the oldest child in his Italian-American family, Celeste often heard his maternal grandmother remark, “Remember this admonition: to whom much is given, much is required.”
Former Ohio governor Richard Celeste will discuss his book “In the Heart of It All: An Unvarnished Memoir of My Life in Public Service” at the Dover Public Library on April 15 at 6:30 p.m.
His boyhood in Lakewood, where his father served as mayor, is detailed in the book. Celeste studied history at Yale University, where she received a scholarship, before becoming a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford. During his time abroad, he met and wed his first wife, Dagmar Braun.
He was recruited to act as a liaison for Peace Corps volunteers in South America upon his return from Oxford. The young couple relocated to Washington, D.C., where they became friends with Connecticut’s U.S. Representative Chester Bowles. When President John F. Kennedy selected Bowles as India’s ambassador, he invited Celeste to serve as his personal assistant.
In 1970, Celeste returned to Ohio and successfully ran as a Democrat for the Ohio House of Representatives. Following two stints as governor, he was elected lieutenant governor in 1974 but lost the governor’s campaign in 1978. Celeste was the director of the Peace Corps in Washington. In 1982, he was successful in his candidacy for governor. He served two terms as governor of Ohio.
His career came full circle when he served as ambassador to India under President Bill Clinton, traveling there with his second wife, Jacqueline Lundquist. Shortly thereafter, Celeste became president of Colorado College, a position she held from 2002 until 2011.
A copy of the book is available for checkout at the Dover Public Library. On April 15, more copies will be available for purchase through check, cash, or credit card.
