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Former W.Va. governor, U.S. senator Jay Rockefeller dies

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Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014, before the Senate subcommittee on Water and Wildlife hearing to examine the safety and security of drinking water supplies following the Central West Virginia drinking water crisis. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)

John D. "Jay" Rockefeller, a former two-term West Virginia governor who spent 30 years representing the Mountain State in the United States Senate, has died, the Washington Post reported Friday morning.

Rockefeller died at age 89 at his Washington D.C. home Friday, the Post reported. After serving as West Virginia's governor from 1977-85, he proceeded to serve five terms in the U.S. Senate before retiring in 2015.

Rockefeller was a member of the famed Rockefeller family. His great-grandfather John Rockefeller founded Standard Oil and was one of the wealthiest people in history. His grandfather John Rockefeller Jr. developed the Rockefeller Center in New York City and was a noted philanthropist, as was his father John Rockefeller III.

Jay Rockefeller moved to Emmons, West Virginia in 1964 as a VISTA worker, won his first election in 1966 to the West Virginia House of Delegates and began a life of public service. After serving as West Virginia Secretary of State, he spent two years as president of West Virginia Wesleyan before winning the governor's seat and eventually moving to the U.S. Senate.

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