Former West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller Dies at 89
Former U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, an heir to one of America's most famous family fortunes who built a decades-long political career in West Virginia, has died at 89.
His family announced that the former Democratic senator died peacefully at his home in Charleston, West Virginia.
"Jay Rockefeller, our beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, died peacefully this morning at his home in Charleston, West Virginia," the family said in a statement. "He was 89 years old."
He is survived by his wife, Sharon Percy Rockefeller, four children, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
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A Rockefeller Who Broke With Family Tradition
Born John Davison Rockefeller IV in New York City in 1937, he was the great-grandson of Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefeller. His uncle, Nelson Rockefeller, was the Republican governor of New York and later vice president under Gerald Ford.
Jay Rockefeller took a very different path. He abandoned his family's Republican tradition, became a Democrat, and put down deep political roots in working-class West Virginia.
He first arrived in the state in 1964 as a VISTA volunteer, working in the coal community of Emmons. He later said his time in poor areas of the state shaped his political outlook.
He became West Virginia secretary of state in 1969, lost a bid for governor in 1972, and then won the office four years later. He served as governor from 1977 to 1985.
Thirty Years in the Senate
Rockefeller won a Senate seat in 1984 and was reelected four times, representing West Virginia from 1985 until his retirement in January 2015.
He focused on health care, coal miners, veterans and children. Alongside Republican Sen. John Chafee of Rhode Island, he helped create the State Children's Health Insurance Program, known as CHIP, which became law in 1997.
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CHIP expanded government-supported coverage for children in families who earned too much to qualify for Medicaid but could not afford private insurance.
He chaired the Senate Commerce Committee and led the Senate Intelligence Committee, placing him at the center of national security debates after the September 11 attacks.
Rockefeller voted in 2002 to authorize military force against Iraq but later became a prominent critic of the war and the intelligence used to justify it. He also pushed for black lung protections for coal miners.
He also repeatedly pushed federal programs aimed at the economic struggles of Appalachia, a cause that defined much of his career in Washington.
Tributes From Both Parties
Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, who succeeded him, praised his service. "Senator Rockefeller was a true public servant who dedicated decades of his life to the people of West Virginia," she said. Former Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin also paid tribute.
Rockefeller announced in 2013 that he would not seek a sixth term. His retirement came as West Virginia was turning sharply Republican, and Capito's 2014 win made her the state's first Republican senator in more than half a century.
Today Republicans hold nearly every major statewide office in West Virginia, a striking contrast to the state that repeatedly sent Rockefeller to Washington. Rockefeller kept his home in Charleston after leaving Washington and remained closely associated with the state.