Beverly LaHaye

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Beverly LaHaye
Born Beverly Jean Davenport Ratcliffe
(1929-04-30)April 30, 1929
Oakland County, Michigan, U.S.
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El Cajon, California, U.S.
Alma mater Highland Park Community High School, Bob Jones University
Spouse(s) Tim LaHaye (m. 1947; d. 2016)

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Beverly Jean Davenport LaHaye (née Ratcliffe; April 30, 1929 – April 14, 2024) was an American Christian conservative activist and author who founded Concerned Women for America (CWA) in San Diego, California in 1979. She was the wife of Tim LaHaye, the evangelical Christian minister and author of the Left Behind series, until his death in 2016.

Life and education

Beverly Jean was born in metro Detroit, Michigan on April 30, 1929, to Lowell Ardo and Nellie Elizabeth (née Pitts) Davenport.[1] Her father was a factory worker in Southfield, Michigan and died of a ruptured appendix when Beverly was almost two years old.[2] Within two years, Nellie Elizabeth married Daniel Ratcliffe, a tool maker in the auto industry in Oakland County, Michigan.[3] From then on, Beverly Jean and her older sister Blanche Aileen used their stepfather's surname as their own.[4]

She graduated from Highland Park Community High School in 1946.[5] She attended Bob Jones University (then named Bob Jones College) and married Air Force veteran and aspiring pastor Tim LaHaye in 1947. After attending college for one year, she dropped out and joined the workforce to support the family finances, as her husband Tim made little money as a pastor.[6][7] In 1956, the LaHayes moved to San Diego, California where Tim became the pastor of Scott Memorial Baptist Church. Beverly became the church secretary and helped direct junior Sunday School.[7] In 69 years of marriage, the LaHayes had four children,[8] Linda, Larry, Lee, and Lori,[9] and nine grandchildren.[10]

LaHaye died in El Cajon, California on April 14, 2024, at the age of 94.[11]

Published works

LaHaye and her husband co-authored the self-help sex manual The Act of Marriage: The Beauty of Sexual Love in 1976.[12]

LaHaye wrote The Spirit-Controlled Woman in 1976,[13] a companion to her husband's book The Spirit-Controlled Temperament. A revised and expanded edition of the book, The New Spirit-Controlled Woman, was released in 2005.[14] The Desires of a Woman's Heart was released in 1993.[15]

Concerned Women for America

LaHaye formed Concerned Women for America (CWA) in 1979.[16] Initially, CWA was a reaction to the National Organization for Women and a 1978 Barbara Walters interview with feminist Betty Friedan.[17] LaHaye stated that she believed Friedan’s goal was "to dismantle the bedrock of American culture: the family,"[18] and that Christian women were not included in discussions of women's rights. LaHaye held a rally in a local San Diego auditorium which marked the beginning of CWA.[18]

While CWA was originally intended to be a local group, the organization was established nationwide within two years.[19] The organization calls itself "the nation's largest public policy women's organization devoted to biblical principles."[20] When CWA's headquarters moved to Washington, D.C., LaHaye "announced at a press conference: 'This is our message: the feminists do not speak for all women in America, and CWA is here in Washington to end the monopoly of feminists who claim to speak for all women.'"[21]

CWA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization[22] that is "supported by hundreds of local chapters across the country."[21] In 2014, Salon stated that "CWA [had] become a powerful political force, claiming over half a million members."[16]

Bibliography

References

  1. ↑ Year: 1930; Census Place: Southfield, Oakland, Michigan; Page: 12A; Enumeration District: 0125; FHL microfilm: 2340754
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Michigan Department of Community Health, Division of Vital Records and Health Statistics; Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952; Film: 174; Film Title: 63 Oakland 06850-10109; Film Description: Oakland (1930-1933)
  4. ↑ Year: 1940; Census Place: Southfield, Oakland, Michigan; Roll: m-t0627-01803; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 63-166C
  5. ↑ "U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012"; School Name: Highland Park Community High School; Year: 1946
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ LaHaye, Tim, and Beverly LaHaye. The Act of Marriage: The Beauty of Sexual Love. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1998.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Gardiner, S., "Concerned Women for America: A Case Study Archived 2013-09-26 at the Wayback Machine", Feminism and Women's Studies, August 28, 2006. Online as of April 19, 2007.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Beverly LaHaye marks three decades of promoting traditional values through CWA Archived September 19, 2013, at the Wayback Machine Christian Examiner.com, 20 December 09. Retrieved: September 14, 2013.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Concerned Women for America Fact Check.Org, October 2010. Retrieved: September 14, 2013.

External links

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