Cindy McCains' Half Sister

[sixdogsmom]

This is from NPR several days ago. I did not post it until now thinking so what, but in light of another posting on this thread I thought it relevant.

Cindy McCain's Half Sister 'Angry' She's Hidden
by Ted Robbins

   

Ted Robbins/NPR
Nicholas Portalski, whose mother is McCain's half sister, says it's "very, very hurtful" that he and his mother haven't been recognized.


All Things Considered, August 18, 2008 · Last Tuesday, NPR broadcast a story about Cindy McCain's business and charity work. In it, Ted Robbins described McCain as the only child of Jim Hensley, a wealthy Arizona businessman. The next morning, NPR received an e-mail from Nicholas Portalski of Phoenix, who heard the story with his mother.

"We were listening to the piece about Cindy McCain on NPR, All Things Considered, and it just struck us very hard," Portalski said.

His mother, Kathleen Hensley Portalski, is also Hensley's daughter.

The Portalski family is accustomed to hearing Cindy McCain described as Hensley's only child.

She's been described that way by news organizations from The New Yorker and The New York Times to Newsweek and ABC.

McCain herself routinely uses the phrase "only child," as she did on CNN last month. "I grew up with my dad," she said then. "I'm an only child. My father was a cowboy, and he really loved me very much, but I think he wanted a son occasionally."

McCain's father was also a businessman — and twice a father.

"I'm upset," Kathleen Portalski says. "I'm angry. It makes me feel like a nonperson, kind of."

Who Is Kathleen Hensley Portalski?

Documents show Kathleen Anne Hensley was born to Jim and Mary Jeanne Hensley on Feb. 23, 1943. They had been married for six years when Kathleen was born.

Jim Hensley was a bombardier on a B-17, flying over Europe during World War II.

He was injured and sent to a facility in West Virginia to recuperate. During that time, while still married to Mary Jeanne, Hensley met another woman — Marguerite Smith. Jim divorced Mary Jeanne and married Marguerite in 1945.

Cindy Lou Hensley was born nine years later, in 1954.

She may have grown up as an only child, but so did her half sister, Kathleen, who was raised by a single parent.

Portalski says she did see her father and her half sister from time to time.

"I saw him a few times a year," she says. "I saw him at Christmas and birthdays, and he provided money for school clothes, and he called occasionally."

Jim Hensley also provided credit cards and college tuition for his grandchildren, as well as $10,000 gifts to Kathleen and her husband, Stanley Portalski. That lasted a decade, they say. By then, Jim Hensley had built Hensley and Co. into one of the largest beer distributorships in the country. He was worth tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars.

Sole Inheritor To Hensley's Estate

When Hensley died in 2000, his will named not only Portalski but also a daughter of his wife Marguerite from her earlier marriage. So, Cindy McCain may be the only product of Jim and Marguerite's marriage, but she is not the only child of either.

She was, however, the sole inheritor of his considerable estate.

Kathleen Portalski was left $10,000, and her children were left nothing. It's a fact Nicholas Portalski says his sister discovered the hard way.

"What she found in town — on the day of or the day before or the day after his funeral — was that the credit card didn't work anymore," Nick says.

The Portalskis live in a modest home in central Phoenix. Kathleen is retired, as is her husband. Nicholas Portalski is a firefighter and emergency medical technician looking for work.

They say it would have been nice if they were left some of the Hensley fortune.

They also say they are Democrats, but Nicholas Portalski says he had another reason for coming forward.

"The fact that we don't exist," he says. "The fact that we've never been recognized, and then Cindy has to put such a fine point on it by saying something that's not true. Recently, again and again. It's just very, very hurtful."

Kathleen Portalski says she'd like an acknowledgment and an apology.

NPR asked the McCain campaign — specifically, Cindy McCain — to comment or respond. Neither replied.


Related NPR Stories
Aug. 13, 2008
Cindy McCain: Private Heiress And PhilanthropistJuly 9, 2008
First Ladies Pursue Women VotersJune 27, 2008
Candidate's Wives Put Under The Microscope


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[dnalexander]

SDM, I have seen both posts before they were posted here  and commented on the one for Obama. Funny how these two stories magically appear at the same time? I am still hoping things get to the real issues and not the Madison Ave. hype we have. I hope after the conventions these candidates will have to start talking "turkey".  The Saddleback forum with Obama and McCain is what should be happening all the time. It actually came closest to making the two candidates answer real questions that the we the people care about. Like I said all families have their issues just check out the whole story before you make a decision.

p.s. Cindy is not running for President.

[sixdogsmom]

I agree David, it will be nice to see some real issues. But I do have an issue with Saddleback, both candidates should have been present at the start of the 'meeting', and the coin toss should have been done at that time. The candidate that was to be second on stage should then have been sequestered. Just my opinion but McCain certainly gave short to the point answers that night, but had to call staff to answer a question on how many houses he owns just a couple of days later. Makes a person go hmmmmm-----.

P.S., but Cindis' sister is John McCains' sister in law, no?

[dnalexander]

SDM, I like that they had to answer on their own and not respond based on what the other person said. I still like the overall way they handled the questions and format at Saddleback. I have to admit I had no clue that the Saddleback forum was scheduled. I came across it as I was channel surfing. I watched the last 45 minutes or so. I heard nothing of it before or I would have watched the whole thing.  I didn't realize the house question for McCain was from the the Saddleback forum. What I will say is when mama controls the money I don't find it hard to believe he doesn't know the technical details. Everything is separated for good reason and his lack of knowledge is very planned. Yes still his sister in law and I read all the stuff on that too. Not the most important topic with Obama and McCain. Just a small insight. Still waitng to hear them talk about real issues. My point in commenting on Obama's half brother and McCains wife's half sister is research the whole story I know more about this because I took the time to research the full story. Don't just take a post or story for what is there research all sides and make up your mind.

David

[pam]

If you can find a family anywhere that doesn't have somebody in it who is never happy with the way the rest of the family treats em or doesn't embarrass somebody else in the family introduce me to em LOL. Every election the other side trots out the family pariah of the other side to try to make em look bad. It's the oldest trick in the book and the lamest if you ask me. Just wish they'd get on with it and tell me somthin I need to hear to make a decision instead of crap I don't care about. I'm nobodies moral compass but my own, I'm more interested in job performance and ideas than how they get along with their extended families. Just makes me shake my head and laugh....

[sixdogsmom]

And a big amen to that!

[lola330]

Agreed, Pam.  I don't want the family skeletons to be used to draw our attention away from the facts.  Also, I don't think Cindy or Barack should be judged by the actions of other people.  They had no control over their parent's or half-siblings, and they can't be held accountable or be made to pay for others errors in judgement or actions.

[Warph]

Agreed, Pam.  I don't want the family skeletons to be used to draw our attention away from the facts. 

Yeah?  With the democrats, how do we know what's fact and/or what's fiction?

[flo]

do what republicans do, SORT IT OUT FOR YOURSELF.

[pam]

Same way you do with REPUBLICANS Warph! If their lips are movin they are probably lyin, if you want to bring it back down to the evil democrats against against the saintly republicans mindset you seem to be stuck on promotin. judge people on their merits not their party or better yet don't judge people just let em be people and pay their own karma.