GIANT FALLS

Rockefeller Dynasty Heir and Former Senator Dies at 89

Rockefeller worked fiercely to fight poverty and support coal miners and military veterans.

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John D. “Jay” Rockefeller IV—heir to his family dynasty, one of America’s wealthiest families—died Friday at age 89. He died in his home in Washington, D.C., and is survived by former television executive Sharon Percy Rockefeller, 81, and their four children. The family hasn’t released further details of his death. As the great-grandson of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, America’s richest man, and the nephew of New York Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, Jay was part of his family’s political dynasty. He graduated from Harvard University and served for two years in a national service program in impoverished rural West Virginia. After serving two terms as Governor of West Virginia, he went on to serve the poor coal-mining state as a senator for three decades from 1984 to 2015. Described as soft-spoken, he worked fiercely to fight poverty and support coal miners and military veterans. He backed former President Bill Clinton’s failed near-universal healthcare bill, and later did the same for Barack Obama’s much more successful attempt. “Championing those most in need has been my life’s calling, and I will never stop fighting to make a difference,” Rockefeller said during his announcement that he would not seek a sixth Senate term in 2013.