Former Senator and West Virginia Governor Jay Rockefeller Dies at Age 89

John D. Jay Rockefeller IV died Friday at his home in Washington, D.C. at the age of 89.

His family did not provide a cause of death when announcing his passing. The liberal Democrat served two terms as governor of West Virginia starting in 1977, leading a state facing high poverty, an aging population, and struggling education. Following his gubernatorial tenure, he represented West Virginia in the United States Senate for five six-year terms beginning in 1985 before retiring in 2015.

A great-grandson of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller Sr. and a nephew of Nelson A. Rockefeller, he focused his public office career on increasing healthcare access, fighting poverty, providing health benefits to coal miners, and assisting military veterans. Bush of taking the nation to war on false premises. West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey and Senator Shelley Moore Capito released statements praising his decades of public service and lasting impact on generations of West Virginians.