GOV. UNDERWOOD HOSPITALIZED WITH STROKE

(03/20/2006)
WVs 83-year-old two-term Republican governor Cecil Underwood is in Charleston Area Medical Center in serious condition.

He was admitted to the hospital Saturday with a stroke.

Earlier this year, Underwood was hospitalized for treatment of a heart infection.

Underwood, who has ties to Calhoun, was the state's youngest governor when he was elected in 1956 at the age of 34.

He became the state's oldest governor 40 years later in 1996 at the age of 74.

He lost to former Democrat Governor Bob Wise in the 2000 election.

Underwood's wife of 56 years, Hovah Hall Underwood, was a native of Calhoun. She died in 2004 after suffering a stroke.