She arrived stubborn, a street kid from Saigon on the sidewalks of the Upper East Side, where Margolies rented an apartment for a time. MOUNTAIN AVE. MONTCLAIR, NJ 2000-04-27 Deed Recorded: Book: 05698 Page: 00363. My dad would have loved this particular Danish, and I really hope that wherever he is, he is able to enjoy her as much as I am. As a journalist, Mezvinsky rarely drew a clear line between her reporting and her life. Should a Holocaust documentary have a happy ending? I dont know if theres a lot of giveback.. She was a terror, but fabulous. Kait Hanson is a lifestyle reporter for TODAY. The. She met babysitters who told stories of her cajoling candy from American GIs, and family members who remembered hiding under the bed with an infant Holly as bombs fell on a nearby Army base in Nha Trang. Let me say, that there are moments where I have been laying on the sofa saying, 'why did I get into this? I felt the budget cuts didnt go far enough, she wrote in her 1994 book A Womans Place: The Freshmen Women Who Changed the Face of Congress. Marjorie Margolies, 79, was a reporter for WCAU in Philadelphia working on stories about children who were considered 'hard to place' She'd started trying to adopt at age 25 but was rejected as a. She was 6. Still, she was named in several lawsuits and her bankruptcy claim rested on the argument that she was too ignorant of the familys finances to be held responsible for them. In this vein, the harshest indictment of Marjorie I hear comes from Mezvinskys former doctor Brad Fenton. There are days when she threatens to turn the Year of the Woman into the Year of the Jewish Mother, running an underdog campaign against a career pol that's as heavy on hugs and kisses as on political strategy. Not that living in Washington three nights a week stopped her from breast-feeding the two boys. "So we had six girls and we got married and then we had two boys. When: On Thursday, January 19, at 11 a.m. Where: Online, for the JCC U at the Kaplen Indeed, if you scroll through her campaign donations, youll find that most of them come from tony suburbs like Bryn Mawr and Bala Cynwyd that are still located in her old districtnot middle- and working-class Northeast Philadelphia, which now comprises more than half of the new seat. I finally found a group in Oregon that didn't say yes, but they didn't say no. There is such a nice spirit here; sometimes maniacal.'. Friends and relatives filed through Holly's room in hospice care during the last months of her life. Another housekeeper and a handyman help keep the hectic household running. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky, former United States Representative from Pennsylvania, political organization worker. Well, its the anniversary of when I moved into my house (along with Husband #1 and Sons #1 and 2) and it became our home. Margolies became a network correspondent, then got into politics and was elected to Congress and met a man with four daughters of his own. The night after the fundraiser I attended with Margolies, Hillary Clinton arrived in Philadelphia to give a speech to the Pennsylvania Conference for Women. "Middle-income people are getting screwed royally," Keane said. After Holly died, Margolies, tying up loose ends, called the hospice service that had cared for her daughter in her last days. She was 6years old. Now, Ms. Margolies is, among many other things, a founder and the president of the Womens Campaign International, which, according to its publicity, provides empowerment training for women around the world; shes also an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania and a fellow at the Fels Institute of Government there. Last night I came back to the house after being away on a story, and my 18-year-old started to yell, 'Mommy's home', and the younger ones followed suit and then the 3-year-old started shouting, as they all ran down the stairs. I'm the outsider. Margoliess decision to run undoubtedly puts the Clintons, eyeing a race of their own, in a tough spot, writes van Zuylen-Wood. When he thought it would help, a federal prosecutor toldthe New York Times, he would call and say, Im spending the weekend with the Clintons., Perhaps with this in mind, Margolies suddenly turns press-shy when asked too many questions about her personal rapport with the Clintons. The bride, formerly on the NBC News staff here, is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Margolies of Phila. Do they ally themselves with a flawed political candidate ahead of Hillarys likely presidential run, or do they turn their backs on their family? One of her biological sons is married to first daughter, Chelsea Clinton, whose mother, Hillary, wrote the forward for Margolies' new memoir "And How are the Children? "I was known as the real Dairy Queen," she said of her days at WRC, where she pumped breast milk between assignments, froze it and carted it home by car every week. Then, three years later in Vietnam, serendipity when Margolies ran into people from the same adoption agency. She endured grueling chemotherapy sessions. In 1970, Margolies was a TV reporter when an assignment took her to Korea for. ', Margolies, who had done a TV series on hard to place adoptive children, asked WCAU-TV if she could do a story in Korea, 'because there were lots of kids who were coming from there.'. Two, her now-ex husband went to jail for running a Ponzi scheme. Lee Margolies was born on 03/05/1964 and is 58 years old. Holly, a half-Vietnamese, half-American child, was a street child. What would it take, Marjorie? Clinton asked her. The brash girl from the big city and the soft-spoken lawyer from the rural Midwest clicked, unexpectedly. Margolies told TODAY. As we walk along the road to find a cab, Ukrainian familys escape is supported, filmed by local shul, Abraham Foxman talks about the Holocaust from his vantage point as a child survivor, Rachel Kahn of Fort Lee embraces her new role as director of North Jersey-Rockland JNF, Jews, Muslims share iftar at Shomrei Torah in Wayne, Randolph woman joins nonprofit to work with young Jews on making things better, Looking back at what we remember, what we miss, and what we take with us, Cantor Lenny Mandels life experiences allow him to conduct funerals of depth and meaning, American Jewish criticism of Israel is increasingly ignorant and libelous, Netanyahus assault on democracy hits a speed bump. Lee Heh could get only a student visa, "and she was the youngest student ever to get one." Eventually, the adoption went . 'Sometimes I feel it's the most selfish thing I've ever done in my entire life,' she says softly. (She was fine, and the case was dismissed.) Lee Heh Margolies, Age 59 aka Elleheh Margolies, Lee Hem Margolies, Margolies Lee, L Margolies Current Address: NNME Erwin Park, Montclair, NJ Past Addresses: New York NY, Montclair NJ +5 more Phone Number: (973) 632- BYJX +9 phones Email Address: See available information UNLOCK PROFILE Phone & Email (10) All Addresses (8) Family (5) Social Court "I'm internalizing a lot of it, thank you," Mezvinsky responded. I picked up the phone and said hello, then heard his voice, which sounded tired and drained, she wrote. That little girl, 7-year-old Lee Heh, became Ms. Margolies' first child; Ms. Margolies is said to have been the first single American woman to adopt a child internationally. (Marc was her first biological child; his brother Andrew, now an artist, was born a few years later.) And Ed just followed., (Margolies declined to comment on the Fenton lawsuit or the bankruptcy case. Surrounded by family members she was meeting for the first time, Holly, a bit nervous, turned to humor. And shes so successful. And she was very, very funny. Edition of Quad-City Times. Her highest honours came with the women's 4100 m relay team, with which was a . October 28, 1992 NARBERTH, PA. -- Marjorie Margolies Mezvinsky has a few things on her mind. "As a Homo sapiens without an X and a Y chromosome, I was not represented. Another friend, Nancy Chasen, says that they were just best best best friends.) However close Chelsea and Marc were, Ed Mezvinsky tried to use their bond to his advantage. It has to do with caring and sharing and loving and watching a child grow and give.'. "She was always doing three things at once. "Holly was impossible," Margolies shared. State representative Brendan Boyle is thought to have a lock on the urban part of the district, and state senator Daylin Leach is the favorite among progressive voters. "I started to do a series on Korean orphans adopted in this area," she said. And she was just impossible. "Since 1998, we've been traveling around the world helping women, getting them to the table," she said. Elected in 1992dubbed the Year of the Woman, after the female representation of Congress doubledshe was a staunch feminist who had recently given up a career as an Emmy-Award winning television journalist. She spent a long time looking into adoption in Korea; literally, as I was ready to leave, they said, We have picked a little girl for you. That little girl, 7-year-old Lee Heh, became Ms. Margolies first child; Ms. Margolies is said to have been the first single American woman to adopt a child internationally. 'As I was getting ready to leave Korea, they said, 'we've picked a little girl for you.' The reason thats funny is that one of her sons, Marc Mezvinsky, is married to Bill and Hillary Clintons only child, Chelsea Clinton. She gets into long talks with voters, wants to know all the family circumstances that may influence their votes, then steers reporters traveling with her to the people she finds most quotable. Margolies is already being painted as the right-wing candidate running in her newly redrawn district, which is now considerably less suburban than it was 20 years ago. And he asked what it would take to have me vote for it. She joked that now, they would have no choice but to cherish all the tacky gifts she had given them over the years. 'I think I was the first single woman in the United States to adopt a child,' says Margolies, 43, who has made the same claim during interviews on national TV and has never gotten a dispute. But when unmarried Marjorie Margolies picked up six-year-old Lee Heh 15 years ago in Korea, it simply wasn't done. The seat had been held by a Republican since 1916, but she won as a Democrat. My checks have been in the mail (electronically) for 17 years, but what about my stepsons and grandkids? "It's a very difficult issue for many people," Mezvinsky said, then suddenly focused in on the woman's chubby, blue-eyed baby. I say, without being flip, 'I forget,' because they are all ours. With fourteen other people at home, Margolies' house was described as a magic circus., "The circus part is right," she said. Its so nice to see someone who is willing to stand up for what she believes in.. I'm not getting anywhere." And other tales of the war between Ukraine and Russia and of Russias new overlord, China, Call the doctor! Her TV series, airing on NBC stations Christmas week, 'Finding Your Home, Discovering Your Heart', traces Lee Heh's return to Korea with Margolies to discover the child's roots.'. I had gone to visit Son #3 on an At Academy for Jewish Religion, sacred arts include circus, Accused chef faces charges on several fronts, As abuse cases proceed against former Humble Toast owner, his career boasts are undercut, Reform synagogues join in Shabbaton to consider big questions and to celebrate, Federation launches Israel Now trip for eighth graders, Raising the militarys Holocaust awareness, JFNNJs Yom HaShoah commemoration to hear director of West Point center, Rabbi Zeilicovich comes out of retirement in Israel to lead a congregation in paradise. We have a huge house, she confirmed. 'I had spent so many years just thinking about me and how I was going to get from Point A to Point B in my own career. They [have] a very congenial relationship, let me put it that way. Apparently she means the sleepovers thing literally. Two years out of prison and still on probation, Ed Mezvinsky did indeed attend, but according to several of Margoliess friends, he did not walk down the aisle with Marc and Marjorie, per Jewish custom. An untraditional family at first glimpse but for Margolies, she never imagined simply becoming a mother would spark history. And then we were asked to take this refugee family," Margolies said. Herbert and Mildred's daughter.". The lease is up this weekend on the. Margulies was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, but was raised in Norwalk, Connecticut. Of course, it was not without its moments to say the least, it didnt work all the time but it was terrific.. Margolies became the first single woman to adopt internationally in the United States of America. The bureaucratic part of it wasn't easy. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. delphia, where her father retired as a purchasing agent for the RCA Corporation. She gave toasts that prompted acquaintances to ask whether she was a stand-up comedian. She was my most naughty child. A couple hours before the vote, she had appeared live on Philadelphia television to explain her opposition to the bill. Holly. It was terrific, she said. Her assignment as a CBS correspondent soon opened a door she never imagined. She became pals with Katie Couric and Gloria Steinem. Personal details about Lee include: political affiliation is currently a registered Democrat; ethnicity is Caucasian; and religious views are listed as Christian. She arrived angry, convinced her birth mother had abandoned her. And I told him, Your first born.. She loved being a journalist and to be fair, it loved her back. 'Everybody takes turns cooking,' says Margolies. And I thought about how important it was that we get in in numbers that can make a difference, to change the face and the body of that body. she asked. Margolies, not unlike Bill Clinton, seems unable to separatethe personal from the political. She made you feel incredibly lazy. Shes like Zelig. Even in this new congressional race, many of her donors out of the gate have been classic FOB types that shes had little to do with for the last two decades, and maybe never had anything to do with in the first place: Lanny Davis, Vernon Jordan, Harold Ickes, Bob Rubin. In 2007, Doug traveled to Vietnam by himself - "kind of a scout trip," he said - and found family members who spoke of a tough little girl with a sharp sense of humor. Ms. Margolies shakes hands with President Bill Clinton. In 1970, Margolies was a TV reporter when an assignment took her to Korea for. (The two divorced in 2007; Ed was released from prison a year later.) I've juggled pretty well.". It was fun.". 'What better thing is there to pour money into but children. She had campaigned with her husband, Ed, a former Iowa congressman, countless times, but had never thought seriously of running for office -- although she came close during the Thomas hearings. They weren't asking my questions.". She learned English fast, and comedic timing faster. Margolies (with Marc) at her swearing in ceremony in 1993. One of Mezvinsky's four daughters from a previous marriage, Eve, also dwells under their roof as does 18-month-old Brian, the son of their live-in 'organizer', Roberta. "I can't believe you're so relaxed," voter Sandy Levitt marveled to Mezvinsky last weekend at a crafts fair where she was trolling for votes. One was to impeach Andrew Johnson; the other had to do with the draft, in the 1940s. 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. She grew up with stability and normality and she woke up and said, 'I want more.' Welcome to a day in the life of the Marjorie Margolies Mezvinsky for Congress campaign, where getting elected is hardly the candidate's only worry. "I was the only one who had nursed," she said, "so I knew it wouldn't hurt if I squeezed that teat. Holly was 5 at the time. Marjorie Margolies stands at a podium; the presidents seal hangs from it. Twenty-five years. When we had the fire, everyone came home for the weekend and all of a sudden we realized, 'Everyone is still here. Though her birth mother, Ho Thi Hieu, had died 10 years before, Holly "learned her mother loved her and didn't want to give her away," Margolies said. She went to Brown, shes married; she has three kids. "She was like a mother hen -- but she's too chic to be a mother hen. I'm pretty independent, I guess. Lee Heh, docile and eager to . Three years later, while covering a story in Vietnam, Margolies adopted Holly. Her decision to run puts the Clintons in a difficult spot. Holly passed away from cancer at age 48. While an internal pollshowed Margolies as the frontrunner in August, its unclear what her natural voter base is. When Margolies was elected to the House in 1992, she was in her early 50s, and her last name was Margolies-Mezvinsky. That little girl, 7-year-old Lee Heh, became Ms. Margolies' first child; Ms. Margolies is said to have been the first single American woman to adopt a child internationally. In fact, there probably are few families like Mezvinsky's. Smukler dismissed the episode For the Clintons and this campaign, its never going to be enough for some people, he said. I called him [Bill] when I was thinking about running, and I told him what was happening and he was very warm and very embracing., Finally, she relents a bit and, adopting Bills accent, mimics his reaction to the news: I love this! she drawls. Apparently, it is all how you look at it. Simon van Zuylen-Wood is a reporter forPhiladelphia magazine. Here is another column on the joys of getting older. Her house burned down over the summer and is not yet rebuilt. We are excited to see their ideas brought to life! Three weeks later, she declared bankruptcy too and dropped out of the race; creditors were asking the two of them for more than $7 million. Leleith Hodges (born 22 June 1953) is a Jamaican former track and field sprinter who competed mainly in the 100 metres.She was one of Jamaica's most prominent female runners of the 1970s. Its a very Jewish question. Now, on weekends, she and her brood don bright red T-shirts emblazoned "MMM for Congress" -- the shirt flaps around Andrew's knees, but is a clean fit on Holly -- pile into a van and campaign across the affluent Main Line and middle-class outer suburbs of Philadelphia where Mezvinsky is running against Republican Montgomery County Commissioner Jon D. Fox in the heavily Republican district of retiring Rep. Lawrence Coughlin. 'Mothering has nothing to do with biologically giving birth. Her career ended for a second time in 2000. I realized the challenges.". Please enter valid email address to continue. Holly Thi Werth (Margolies) passed away on May 3, 2016, in her home in Boise with her family at her bedside. "And a lot of those feelings she put in jars, figuratively speaking, and left them there.". I hope she wins.". Oh, and she had a family of five Vietnamese refugees live in the family house as well; she became the legal guardian to three of that familys children, and theyre all still part of the family. "I got myself to the point that I was not going to feel guilty, being at work and not being with the kids, or being with the kids and not being at work," she said. Was there anything particularly Jewish about her life? Still, its better to be safe than sorry. When Holly came, it was like receiving a letter bomb. See the complete profile on LinkedIn and discover Leah's . For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Can you really think the Clintons were happy to have their only daughter caught up in this complicated and not fully ethical family? The degree to which the Clintons dive intoand quite possibly make the differencein Margoliess campaign might depend on the answer to that question. At 6:30 p.m. on Halloween night, Marjorie Margoliess black SUV pulls up to a handsome colonial in the Philadelphia suburbs where a campaign fundraiser is being held in her honor. Other rewards followed. We just lost a lot of stuff.' And over the summer, she threw a huge wedding with 14 bridesmaids for daughter Lee Heh Margolies, 28. Their relationship, he insists, is far more important in Marjories life than whether she wins or loses this race.. Class: residential (per ft 2) Non-usable Sale for Assessment. Sure enough that is exactly the theme of Margoliess riff at the fundraiser, when she refers to the time Bill phoned from the Oval Office to beg for her vote. Unlike Marc and Chelsea, reports Margoliess friend and former congressional staffer Arlene Halpernwho was therethey didnt spend the night. The youngest children flocked to Holly. Is that enough to fuel her political comeback? Northern New Jerseys Jewish Voice Since 1931, Get The Jewish Standard Newsletter by email and never miss our top stories, www.jccotp.org/ programs/lectures-learning, Israel Story looks at the countrys founding document in Teaneck program. Her son, Mark, is married to their daughter, Chelsea. When I ask the native Northeast Philadelphian Boyle what differentiates him from his opponents, Margolies in particular, he says hes the only candidate who isnt a millionaire or married to one. Put another way: Hes a first-generation Irish-American who grew up in a row house in Northeast Philly; she once sued US Airways after a bag fell on her head. There had been only two votes in history that were that close and that important, she said. Can you really think the Clintons were happy to have their only daughter caught up in this complicated and not fully ethical family?, But theres a flip side to the relentless networking, a sense among certain of her old friends and colleagues that her relationships are simply a means to an end. "She smoked. ), In 1997, several years after their first Renaissance Weekend together, Chelsea Clinton decided to attend Stanford University, where Marc was already enrolled. As she shakes hands in town after town, it is sometimes hard to tell whether the recently lapsed journalist is conducting interviews for a story or campaigning. He had four daughters from a previous marriage. Theres a fork in Mas leg!, Lets not forget when considering the pitfalls of mnemonics, Barnert Temple workshop provides food for thought and fresh insights, Looking back at a very difficult year with very real hope, Cemetery Association of Northern New Jersey will mark graves in 18 cemeteries, JYC, a Friday-night group for young professionals, grows in Morristown, Empty pews the decline of religion in America. Her. It was an excuse to get over there, and it worked. Marc was not in favor of Marjorie running, she tells me. Her mother, Mildred Margolies, 81, of Philadelphia, remembers always worrying that her daughter was doing too much. Life lessons from an Israeli cab driver. She returned home with the beginning of her own story a 7-year-old daughter named Lee Heh. ". The personal which she got to in part through the professional is that she is the mother of 11 children. She was also a fiscal hawk representing Philadelphias moneyed suburbs; prior to her election, her district had gone Republican every year since 1916. They had two sons, Jude and Trent. the mom of 11 kids shares how she became the first single woman in the U.S. believed to have adopted internationally. Margoliess brief remarks are apolitical; she mentions the race only to tell people to direct questions to her staff. Two years after she adopted Holly, in 1975, Margolies married former U.S. Rep. Edward Mezvinsky. Its hard to sum up Ms. Margolies life. 'When people ask, 'which ones are your real children?' During his trial, it came out that he had tried to woo investors by touting Chelseas relationship with his son. It was sort of like that was the final affirmation that you know there couldnt have been truly heartfelt, deep personal relationships., Dating back to the time Margolies invited him and his wife to Renaissance Weekend for the first time, the lawsuit confirmed his nagging feeling that everything she did was driven by political calculation. But at some level, she has always done it this way. In 1995, Margolies was selected as the director of the U.S. delegation to the U.N. Conference on Human Rights in Beijing, where Hillary Clinton gave her famous womens rights are human rights speech. JCC on the Palisades in Tenafly, How much: $12 for JCC members; $15 for nonmembers. Danish did not disappoint. She was upfront with her bosses on her dual motive: 'I wasn't kidding anybody. But I knew that in a million years, I would never, ever, do that.". I was at his bris!, OPTICS: Chelsea's Other Half (click to view gallery). Can America become the new Jewish Babylonia? Timeless Lessons From the Front Lines of Motherhood.". Margolies and Mezvinsky also have two biological children, Mark, 7, and Andrew, 3. Lee Heh arrived from Korea in 1970 and was joined four years later by Holly from Vietnam. After exactly three minutes and 30 seconds, Margolies stops talking and yields the floor to Madam Secretary, who proceeds to flesh out the story about the time she busted a move with a younger guy at Marc and Chelseas wedding.