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ELKINS - Former state legislators from Randolph County expressed fond memories of Jay Rockefeller, the former West Virginia governor and senator who died at 89 Friday.
Former member of the West Virginia House of Delegates William “Bill” Hartman, 88, recalled working with Rockefeller on the coalition to complete Corridor H.
“He (Rockefeller) was always very receptive to any calls or any visits we had with him, and he absolutely supported our efforts to get Corridor H started,” Hartman told The Inter-Mountain on Friday. “This was back in the late 80s, early 90s. He was always very easy to communicate with.”
Hartman described Rockefeller as a “real servant” for West Virginia.
“He came to West Virginia… when he was a young man and stayed,” Hartman said. “I think he served us very well.”
Longtime local businessman and former state legislator Mike Ross, 88, told The Inter-Mountain on Friday that “we’ve lost a great American.”
Ross remembers campaigning with Rockefeller and enjoyed working with the former governor. While they didn’t always agree on things, Ross said Rockefeller was a “great person to work with” who helped West Virginia a great deal.
When asked if he had any memories of campaigning with Rockefeller, Ross recalled when the two of them came across an auction in Martinsburg.
“He (Rockefeller) came up to me and said, ‘Mike, if you get a chance, spend some of your money over here at this auction,’ and I said, ‘Well, your money’s good too,'” Ross said. “He was governor then… and he said, ‘Mike, you don’t understand my money… You can go out there and you can buy a pick-up truck. I go out there, I’ve got to get permission to buy a pick-up truck… I can’t spend my money the way you spend yours.'”
Ross described the former senator as a friendly and nice person. Though Rockefeller “had a lot of things to learn” when he first came to West Virginia, Ross said he was still a down-to-earth person.
“I enjoyed working with him,” Ross said, noting that some of West Virginia’s great leaders have passed away in recent years. “We’re losing a lot of good citizens.”
Former West Virginia House of Delegates member Julia Elbon spoke highly of both Rockefeller and his wife, Sharon Lee Percy Rockefeller.
“West Virginia was really fortunate to have the Rockefeller family,” Elbon told The Inter-Mountain on Friday. “That includes his wife also. They adopted West Virginia and we adopted them.”