Virginia D Ragan

Ragan traces her conservative roots and her passion for elder-care issues to her father, John C. Dempsey, whose success in nearly 50 years as chairman of Greif Inc. helped develop the company into what is now: a $4 billion-a-year global industrial packaging manufacturer. He developed Alzheimer's , and Ragan returned to Ohio nearly two decades ago to care for him, and then later cared for her mother. Greif, a 125-year-old company based in the city of Delaware, lists Ragan as the top shareholder with nearly 6 million shares of stock. While her son serves on the company's board of directors, Ragan said she has no active role in company operations. Ragan said she has long been involved in politics, dating back to her work with former U.S. Rep. John Ashbrook. She first met Ohio House Speaker William G. Batchelder, R-Medina, in the early 1960s at Ohio Wesleyan University, later developing a legislative program for the Ohio Federation of Republican Women and serving on the board of United Conservatives of Ohio.