New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s father died of a sudden brain hemorrhage on Wednesday night in Florida, with the governor receiving the news while on a three-day solidarity mission in Israel.
John “Jack” Courtney was 87 years old, according to the governor’s office.
Hochul, a Democrat, frequently tells the story of her father’s journey in the workforce, starting with his employment as a clerical worker at a Buffalo-area steel plant while attending college with infant children at home — including the future governor.
Courtney eventually left for a job at a then-fledgling IT company, Computer Task Group Inc., in 1968, where he steadily rose within the ranks and eventually became the company’s president. He retired in 1993, according to the Buffalo News.
“College education lifted my family up,” Hochul said at an event last month. “My father and mom lived in a trailer park. Dad worked at a steel plant, but dad went to school at night with a couple of babies at home. I was one of them. Got a college degree. Next thing we know, our lives are changed forever.”
Courtney was the father of six children in all, with the governor being the second oldest. He traveled to Albany to witness his daughter’s inauguration in 2021.
On Thursday in Jerusalem, Hochul visited the Western Wall, where she left a hand-written note that referenced her father’s passing.
“I pray for my father, who cherished his visit to this Holy Land, and who passed during the night,” Hochul wrote.
On Tuesday, as Hochul waited at JFK Airport to depart for Israel, she sat with a briefing book as she listened to an audio message her father sent her from Florida, according to pool reports.
Hochul is scheduled to return to the United States on Friday.
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