Wikipedia Biography / Profile Background
Introduction :
- Jacqueline (abbr. Jackie) May Battley was a mathematics teacher at Baker High School in Columbus, Ohio.
- She was the first wife of American Republican politician and later speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich.
- Jackie died on August 7, 2013, at the ripe age of 77 in Atlanta due to complications from multiple health issues.
- In her younger days, Battley was also a deacon and volunteer at First Baptist Church in Carrollton.
Personal Life : Parents, Family and Education
- Jackie was born in Columbus, Georgia, on February 21, 1936.
- Her parents were Linda May Clay and Wilbur Allen. Jackie was the eldest of four children.
- At the age of 4, she was diagnosed with polio. Her mother would massage her by the window so she could see them play while she stayed in. She could not go out for at least six months, she recalled.
Married Life :
- Jackie got married to Newt in 1962 when he was just 19 years old. She was his former high school geometry teacher and 26 years old during the time she got hitched. They were married for 18 years.
- Battley followed Gingrich to Emory University and began teaching thereafter, he graduated from high school.
- Jackie and Newt have two children together. They are Kathleen Gingrich Lubbers, who is now married to the President of Gingrich Communications Paul Lubbers, and Jacqueline Gingrich Cushman (married to Kimmy Cushman Jr).
Divorce Complications :
- Six months after Jackie’s divorce, Newt married Marianne Ginther. After another 18 years of marriage, he split with Marianne and married Callista Bisek four months after.
- The Mother Jones magazine reported that Newt demanded to discuss divorce terms while Battley was in Emory University Hospital recovering from her tumor removal operation. Cushman claimed that the original intention was not to discuss the terms of divorce explicitly, and her father backed her story in another interview later.
- She claimed that the divorce came as “a complete surprise” to her in a telephone interview with The Washington Post in 1985, but in that same interview, she stated that she had “been talking about divorce for 11 years and you’ve gone to a marriage counselor, and the other person doesn’t want the divorce.”
- Until today, it is still uncertain who first filed the motion for divorce. Battley’s youngest daughter stated in an open letter that it was her mother that requested a divorce.
- Court papers contradicted that statement, revealing that Newt filed for divorce two months before Jackie’s surgery. However, Battley opposed the divorce, stating that she had “ample grounds for divorce” but “does not desire one at this time.”
- After the divorce, Jackie returned to Columbus to continue teaching. She has been teaching for over 20 years. She was a teacher to Ruby Cantrell, Lance Ozier, and Marc Grunden, who have all praised her for her wisdom and kindness.