Former U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller Dies at 89, Marking End of Political Dynasty
Jay Rockefeller, a former U.S. Senator and Governor of West Virginia, has died at the age of 89. Rockefeller, the last Democratic member of his prominent political family, passed away on Thursday night at his Washington D.C. home, as confirmed by Mary Stewart, vice president for external affairs at WETA. He dedicated half a century to public service in West Virginia, a state he moved to in 1964 to work in an anti-poverty program. Rockefeller was elected governor 12 years later, serving two terms, and subsequently spent 30 years as a U.S. Senator. Born John D. Rockefeller IV in New York City, he was the great-grandson of Standard Oil Co. founder John Rockefeller. Despite his family's Republican tradition, Rockefeller became a Democrat and was first elected to the state House of Delegates in 1966. His career included overcoming a political defeat in the 1972 gubernatorial race against Arch A. Moore Jr., whose daughter, Shelley Moore Capito, later succeeded Rockefeller in the Senate upon his retirement in 201...
