Shanahan, Elwill M., 1912-1983.

Elwill Mattson Shanahan Weltmer is a former Kansas secretary of state, appointed April 27, 1966 upon the death of her husband and then secretary of state Paul Shanahan. Elwill Shanahan was born on September 22, 1912 in Salina, daughter of August G. Mattson and Adine Olivia Peterson Mattson. She married Paul R. Shanahan on October 13, 1951 in Lawrence. She was named Secretary of State Emerita on January 4, 1979. Shanahan was the first woman to hold a position in the constitutionally elected branch of Kansas government. She later married Brigadier General W. Keith Weltmer. Weltmer was born on July 30, 1913 in Hiawatha, Kansas. His military career began when he enlisted in Battery E, 130th Field Artillery Regiment, Kansas National Guard. He entered active duty on December 23, 1940 when the 35th Infantry Division was mobilized for World War II and sent to Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Little Rock, Arkansas. In June 1942, he was sent with the 154th Field Artillery to Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, which although owned by the United States, were occupied by the Japanese. He served as Secretary of Administration under Governor Robert Bennett. [Kansas State Historical Society. "Kansas Secretaries of State." http://www.kshs.org/genealogists/individuals/officials/secyofstate.htm#shanahane (accessed September 21, 2009.)] [Museum of the Kansas National Guard. "BG W. Keith Weltmer." http://www.kansasguardmuseum.org/weltmerWhf.html (accessed September 21, 2009.)].