Jay Rockefeller - Early Life

Early Life

John Davison Rockefeller IV was born at New York Hospital in New York City to John D. Rockefeller III and Blanchette Ferry Hooker just 26 days after the death of his great-grandfather John D. Rockefeller. Jay Rockefeller graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1955 and from Harvard College in 1961 with an A.B. in Far Eastern Languages and History, after having spent three years studying Japanese at the International Christian University in Tokyo.

After college, Rockefeller worked for the Peace Corps in Washington, D.C., under President John F. Kennedy, where he developed a friendship with Attorney General Robert Kennedy and worked as an assistant to Peace Corps Director Sargent Shriver. He served as the Operations Director for the Corps' largest overseas program, in the Philippines. He continued his public service in the Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) (1964–65), under President Lyndon B. Johnson, during which time he moved to Emmons, West Virginia.

Rockefeller, along with his son Charles, is a Trustee of New York's Asia Society, which was established by his father (1956). He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit think tank previously chaired by his uncle, David Rockefeller. As a Senator, he voted against the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement, which was heavily backed by David Rockefeller.

Since 1967, Rockefeller has been married to the former Sharon Percy, the Chief Executive Officer of WETA-TV, the leading PBS station in the Washington, D.C., area, which broadcasts such notable programs as PBS NewsHour and Washington Week. Sharon is the daughter of the late former Republican Illinois Senator Charles H. Percy, who had an association with the Rockefeller family. Jay and Sharon have four children: John D. Rockefeller V (Jamie), Valerie, Charles, and Justin. Jamie's wife, Emily, is the daughter of former National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Paul Tagliabue; the couple welcomed John D. Rockefeller VI on on August 29, 2007.

The Rockefellers reside in Northwest Washington, D.C., and maintain permanent residence in Charleston, West Virginia. They, like other members of the family, have a ranch in the Grand Teton National Park in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Former President Bill Clinton, a friend of Rockefeller's; and the Clinton family vacationed at the ranch in August 1995.

Rockefeller is related to several prominent Republican Party supporters and former officeholders: He is a great-grandson of Nelson W. Aldrich, U.S. Senator from Rhode Island (1881–1911); a nephew of David Rockefeller, the Rockefeller patriarch; Winthrop Rockefeller, 37th Governor of Arkansas (1967–71); and Nelson Rockefeller, 49th Governor of New York (1959–73) and 41st Vice President of the United States (1974–77); the son-in-law of Charles H. Percy, U.S. Senator from Illinois; and a cousin of Winthrop Paul Rockefeller, 13th Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas (1996–2006).