Written by Rocky Saxbe

Hello Dolly. Hello to my beautiful, vivacious, red-headed mother, who loved and nurtured me, shared and enhanced my being, and served as a perfect example for living a good and meaningful life.

I was the third and youngest child born on November 2nd, 1946, the same day Dad was first elected to the Ohio House of Representatives. Mom was always involved in Dad’s political career and loved campaigning. She was his best asset wherever they were, socially and politically. And while she was on the road with him a lot, I always felt she was there for me when I needed her. Mom was my Cub Scout Den Mother, taught my 8th-grade history class, got me to church every Sunday, milked my 4H cow, and assumed my morning paper route when I was sick. She scratched my back and listened to my prayers. Her counsel, spirituality, sense of humor, patience, and encouragement enabled Dad, me, Bart, and Juli to follow our respective stars. But she also chased her stars. Mom was a trained artist who took her painting seriously. Wherever she lived, she made sure she had enough space for an art studio. Her portraits, still lifes, and landscapes are now spread among three children, nine grandkids, and many friends.

Mom loved her flowers, especially her gladioli and dahlias, which filled her many homes until her last days. Those homes ranged from a converted chicken coop in Kansas when Dad was in the Army to houses and apartments in Ohio, Washington D.C., Florida, and the Roosevelt House in New Delhi. Even when Dad would get restless and want to move, she went along even if she preferred to stay where they were.

Wherever they lived, Dolly Saxbe would quickly develop a circle of admiring friends who shared her interests in art, golf, good food, and fun parties. She was always the belle of the ball, and when she and Dad would make their entrance at a party that had a band, it would immediately strike up “Hello Dolly,” and the whole room would join in singing the classic. Here they are on the dance floor in New Delhi, India.

Mom loved to wear elegant clothes and spectacular jewelry. Her huge multi-caret Emerald ring from India made eyes pop out, and Dad always seemed eager to adorn her with furs, rings, and broaches that were beyond their budget. Dad would say, “Let’s spend it now before we piss it away on necessities.”

Mom and Dad had a storybook love affair to be envied, and they knew it. Her role in their partnership was not a subordinate one but a complementary one. Although once, when asked the secret to their long marriage, she replied with a smile, “We’re both in love with the same man.” Dad, though a loyal Republican, was never a partisan politician. His relationships crossed party lines, and Mom solidified them through friendships with other politicians’ wives wherever they were.

When Joe Biden was in Columbus campaigning for Governor Ted Strickland in 2016, I received a message from Strickland’s office that Biden would be calling me that evening but didn’t give a reason. Around 7:30, while Suzy and I were in the kitchen enjoying dinner with Suzy’s friend, Judy, who had just arrived from Phoenix, my cellphone rang. It was Joe Biden, and his reason for calling was to tell me a story. He began with how important Dolly and Bill’s friendship meant to him when he needed it the most. He had just been elected to the U.S. Senate at thirty years old when his wife and baby daughter were killed in a tragic automobile accident. After returning to his new job in the Senate, deeply depressed and mourning his loss, my folks were some of the first people to come to him. Mom walked into his Senate office and insisted he join them regularly for dinner with a small group of Republican and Democrat friends. He started choking up as he told me how their outreach helped save him at the worst time in his life and that he would never forget their kindness. It was important to him that I heard this story, especially about my Mom.

In 2019, we hosted a fundraiser for Joe Biden at our home when he was a long-shot candidate running for President. Just after introducing him, I handed him the mic, and the first thing he did was to tell the same story, but in more detail, to 150 guests crammed into a tent. You could hear a pin drop; it was that quiet. I felt Mom’s beautiful spirit and loved hearing this heartwarming story again.

In 1975, after Dad was appointed Ambassador to India by President Gerald Ford, the folks moved to New Delhi and lived at the Embassy for two years. Sarah was only seven months old when they invited us to visit for five weeks, and it was an opportunity we couldn’t miss. We got our shots, packed our bags, and off we went with little Sarah riding in a baby carrier strapped to my back.

One night while at the embassy, Mom, Suzy, and I walked into Sarah’s room and saw her in the crib pointing to an elephant mobile hanging over her head. Mom had been trying unsuccessfully for a week to get her to say the Hindi word for elephant. When Sarah saw Mom, she got so excited and shouted, “Haathee.” Needless to say, Mom and Sarah developed a very close and loving relationship for as long as Mom lived.

There have been thousands of treasured memories with Mom as my family grew, and she came to know and love Suzy, Sarah, Jake, and their boys. Mom was a beautiful lady. “Hello Dolly, you’re still glowin’, you’re still crowin’, you’re still goin’ strong….”