Winthrop Paul Rockefeller
Encyclopedia
Winthrop Paul Rockefeller (September 17, 1948 – July 16, 2006) was a Republican
politician who served as the 13th Lieutenant Governor
of the U.S. state
of Arkansas
from 1996 until his death.
, a former governor of Arkansas
and an heir to the Rockefeller
oil fortune. His mother, the former Jievute Paulekiute Sears, was a former actress and model best known as Bobo (her stage name was Barbara Paul). His parents separated in 1950 and divorced four years later. Bobo Rockefeller died May 19, 2008 at age 91 in Winthrop's home in Arkansas. She was preceded in death by her son Winthrop P. Rockefeller who died in 2006, and is survived by her daughter-in-law, Lisenne Dudderar Rockefeller of Little Rock, grandchildren; Andrea Hobbs, Katherine Eades, Winthrop Paul Rockefeller,Jr., William G.Rockefeller, Colin Rockefeller, John Alexander Rockefeller, Grace Rockefeller, Louis Rockefeller, great-grandchild Emma Eades, God-daughter Daryn Hinton
and Sandra Becker.
Winthrop was known as Winnie as a child and Win as an adult. By his father's second marriage, he had two stepsiblings, Anne and Bruce Bartley.
After being educated in boarding schools in England
and Switzerland
, he attended Pembroke College
, Oxford University. He graduated from Texas Christian University (TCU)
in Fort Worth, Texas
, with a degree in ranch management.
to serve on the President’s Council on Rural America and was elected chairman. Rockefeller also was a president of the Quapaw Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America
and served on the Boy Scouts National Board of Directors.
He was elected lieutenant governor in a November 1996 special election triggered by the resignation of Governor Jim Guy Tucker
and the promotion of then-Lieutenant Governor Mike Huckabee
. Rockefeller was subsequently re-elected in 1998 to a full four-year term, receiving 67 percent of the vote. Rockefeller was elected once again in 2002 with 60 percent of the vote.
According to his website: "As lieutenant governor he focused on economic development, education and literacy. As acting governor on September 11, 2001, the day terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, he resisted calls to declare a state of emergency and instead urged Arkansans to remain calm and to donate blood, which they did. He sponsored Project ChildSafe, a national firearms safety program that has distributed hundreds of thousands of free trigger lock
s in Arkansas, and he served as honorary chairman of the Arkansas Literary Festival. In 1997, Rockefeller created Books in the Attic, a program using existing resources, Boy Scouts, and volunteers to ensure access to reading opportunities for all children. In 2004, he served as chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas."
In 2007, with permission from the Rockefeller family, the Arkansas Chapter of Young Republicans named their "Young Republican of the Year Award" after Win Rockefeller. The inaugural winner was Boyce Hamlet from Warren, Arkansas.
. They had three children: Andrea Davidson (1972-), Katherine Cluett (1974-), and Winthrop Paul, Jr. (1976-). Rockefeller was awarded sole custody of the children on 1 November 1985. In 1992, he petitioned the Supreme Court of Arkansas to terminate his more than $25,000 monthly alimony payments or to modify the couple's 1979 divorce agreement, claiming that his former wife had contracted a common law or de facto
marriage, from which she had additional children . In its decision on 19 November 1998, the Court noted that Arkansas does not recognize such marriages; and Lt. Governor Rockefeller's petition was denied .
On 4 June 1983, he married for a second time to Lisenne Dudderar, an Administrative Assistant with the Arkansas Nature Conservancy, at the Rockefeller estate near Little Rock, Winrock Farms. They had five children: William (1986-), Colin (1990-, currently a Midshipman at the United States Naval Academy
), John (1993-), Louis (1996-), and Grace, whom the Rockefellers adopted in Hong Kong
. Both John and Grace have Down syndrome
. Lisenne and Winthrop Rockefeller founded a school for children with learning disabilities in Little Rock, now known as the Academy at Riverdale.
.
Rockefeller was ranked # 283 on the Forbes
magazine list of the nation's wealthiest people in 2005, with a fortune the magazine estimated at $1.2 billion. As lieutenant governor, which was a part-time job, he forwarded his $34,673 state salary to charity.
worldwide through education, research and advocacy.
in the Republican primary election in May 2006. On July 20, 2005, however, he bowed out of the race, citing myeloproliferative disease
, a blood disorder that can develop into leukemia
if left untreated. In October 2005 and March 2006, Rockefeller underwent unsuccessful bone marrow transplant
s at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
in Seattle, Washington
.
On July 8, 2006, after the failure of his second bone marrow transplant, he returned to Little Rock and died July 16, 10:37 a.m., at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
in Little Rock
.
On July 19, his body lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda; and, the next day, a memorial service was held at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church, where Rockefeller was a member. He is buried next to his father, the late Governor Winthrop Rockefeller
, at Winrock Farms in Morrilton, Arkansas
.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
politician who served as the 13th Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas
The Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas presides over the Arkansas Senate with a tie-breaking vote, serves as governor when the governor is out of state, and serves as governor if the governor is impeached, removed from office, dies or is otherwise unable to discharge the office's duties.The position...
of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
from 1996 until his death.
Early life and parents
Rockefeller was the only child of Winthrop RockefellerWinthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller was a politician and philanthropist who served as the first Republican Governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction. He was a third-generation member of the Rockefeller family.-Early life:...
, a former governor of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
and an heir to the Rockefeller
Rockefeller family
The Rockefeller family , the Cleveland family of John D. Rockefeller and his brother William Rockefeller , is an American industrial, banking, and political family of German origin that made one of the world's largest private fortunes in the oil business during the late 19th and early 20th...
oil fortune. His mother, the former Jievute Paulekiute Sears, was a former actress and model best known as Bobo (her stage name was Barbara Paul). His parents separated in 1950 and divorced four years later. Bobo Rockefeller died May 19, 2008 at age 91 in Winthrop's home in Arkansas. She was preceded in death by her son Winthrop P. Rockefeller who died in 2006, and is survived by her daughter-in-law, Lisenne Dudderar Rockefeller of Little Rock, grandchildren; Andrea Hobbs, Katherine Eades, Winthrop Paul Rockefeller,Jr., William G.Rockefeller, Colin Rockefeller, John Alexander Rockefeller, Grace Rockefeller, Louis Rockefeller, great-grandchild Emma Eades, God-daughter Daryn Hinton
Daryn Hinton
Daryn Hinton born in Santa Monica, California, raised in the Hollywood entertainment industry. Hinton had a spiritual conversion and left the Hollywood connections behind to pursue her new found faith.-Family and background:...
and Sandra Becker.
Winthrop was known as Winnie as a child and Win as an adult. By his father's second marriage, he had two stepsiblings, Anne and Bruce Bartley.
After being educated in boarding schools in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, he attended Pembroke College
Pembroke College, Oxford
Pembroke College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located in Pembroke Square. As of 2009, Pembroke had an estimated financial endowment of £44.9 million.-History:...
, Oxford University. He graduated from Texas Christian University (TCU)
Texas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, with a degree in ranch management.
Political career
Rockefeller served from 1981 to 1995 on the Arkansas State Police Commission. In 1991, he was appointed by President George H. W. BushGeorge H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
to serve on the President’s Council on Rural America and was elected chairman. Rockefeller also was a president of the Quapaw Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
and served on the Boy Scouts National Board of Directors.
He was elected lieutenant governor in a November 1996 special election triggered by the resignation of Governor Jim Guy Tucker
Jim Guy Tucker
James "Jim" Guy Tucker, Jr. is an Arkansas political figure. He served as the 43rd Governor of Arkansas, the 11th Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas, Arkansas Attorney General, and U.S. Representative...
and the promotion of then-Lieutenant Governor Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
. Rockefeller was subsequently re-elected in 1998 to a full four-year term, receiving 67 percent of the vote. Rockefeller was elected once again in 2002 with 60 percent of the vote.
According to his website: "As lieutenant governor he focused on economic development, education and literacy. As acting governor on September 11, 2001, the day terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, he resisted calls to declare a state of emergency and instead urged Arkansans to remain calm and to donate blood, which they did. He sponsored Project ChildSafe, a national firearms safety program that has distributed hundreds of thousands of free trigger lock
Trigger lock
A trigger lock is a device designed to prevent a firearm from being discharged while the device is in place. Generally, two pieces come together from either side behind the trigger and are locked in place, which can be unlocked with a key or combination. This physically prevents the trigger from...
s in Arkansas, and he served as honorary chairman of the Arkansas Literary Festival. In 1997, Rockefeller created Books in the Attic, a program using existing resources, Boy Scouts, and volunteers to ensure access to reading opportunities for all children. In 2004, he served as chairman of the Republican Party of Arkansas."
In 2007, with permission from the Rockefeller family, the Arkansas Chapter of Young Republicans named their "Young Republican of the Year Award" after Win Rockefeller. The inaugural winner was Boyce Hamlet from Warren, Arkansas.
Marriages
April 1971-11 January 1979, he was married to Deborah Cluett Sage. The wedding took place in Williamsburg, VirginiaWilliamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
. They had three children: Andrea Davidson (1972-), Katherine Cluett (1974-), and Winthrop Paul, Jr. (1976-). Rockefeller was awarded sole custody of the children on 1 November 1985. In 1992, he petitioned the Supreme Court of Arkansas to terminate his more than $25,000 monthly alimony payments or to modify the couple's 1979 divorce agreement, claiming that his former wife had contracted a common law or de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
marriage, from which she had additional children . In its decision on 19 November 1998, the Court noted that Arkansas does not recognize such marriages; and Lt. Governor Rockefeller's petition was denied .
On 4 June 1983, he married for a second time to Lisenne Dudderar, an Administrative Assistant with the Arkansas Nature Conservancy, at the Rockefeller estate near Little Rock, Winrock Farms. They had five children: William (1986-), Colin (1990-, currently a Midshipman at the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
), John (1993-), Louis (1996-), and Grace, whom the Rockefellers adopted in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. Both John and Grace have Down syndrome
Down syndrome
Down syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...
. Lisenne and Winthrop Rockefeller founded a school for children with learning disabilities in Little Rock, now known as the Academy at Riverdale.
Wealth
Rockefeller served as chief executive of Winrock Farms, Inc., which had been set up by his father, and had interests in various small businesses around the state: in retailing, automobiles, farming, and the resort industry. He was an active member of the National Federation of Independent BusinessNational Federation of Independent Business
The National Federation of Independent Business is a lobbying organization with its headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee and offices in Washington, D.C. USA, and in all 50 state capitals...
.
Rockefeller was ranked # 283 on the Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine list of the nation's wealthiest people in 2005, with a fortune the magazine estimated at $1.2 billion. As lieutenant governor, which was a part-time job, he forwarded his $34,673 state salary to charity.
Philanthropy
1986, founded The Billfish Foundation www.billfishfoundation.org, promoting the conservation of billfishBillfish
The term billfish is applied to a number of different large, predatory fish characterised by their large size and their long, sword-like bill. Billfish include the sailfish and marlin, which make up the family Istiophoridae, and the swordfish, sole member of the family Xiphiidae...
worldwide through education, research and advocacy.
Illness and death
Rockefeller had announced his candidacy for Governor and was expected to face the more conservative Asa HutchinsonAsa Hutchinson
William Asa Hutchinson is a former U.S. Attorney for the Fort Smith-based Western District of Arkansas, U.S. Congressman from the Third District of Arkansas, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the first-ever Under Secretary for Border & Transportation Security at the U.S...
in the Republican primary election in May 2006. On July 20, 2005, however, he bowed out of the race, citing myeloproliferative disease
Myeloproliferative disease
The myeloproliferative diseases are a group of diseases of the bone marrow in which excess cells are produced. They are related to, and may evolve into, myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia, although the myeloproliferative diseases on the whole have a much better prognosis than...
, a blood disorder that can develop into leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
if left untreated. In October 2005 and March 2006, Rockefeller underwent unsuccessful bone marrow transplant
Bone marrow transplant
Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cell or blood, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood stem cells, or umbilical cord blood...
s at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, is one of the world’s leading cancer research institutes...
in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
.
On July 8, 2006, after the failure of his second bone marrow transplant, he returned to Little Rock and died July 16, 10:37 a.m., at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is part of the University of Arkansas System, a state-run university in the U.S. state of Arkansas...
in Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
.
On July 19, his body lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda; and, the next day, a memorial service was held at Pulaski Heights United Methodist Church, where Rockefeller was a member. He is buried next to his father, the late Governor Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller was a politician and philanthropist who served as the first Republican Governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction. He was a third-generation member of the Rockefeller family.-Early life:...
, at Winrock Farms in Morrilton, Arkansas
Morrilton, Arkansas
Morrilton is a city in Conway County, Arkansas, United States, northwest of Little Rock. The town was home to Harding College, now Harding University of Searcy, Arkansas, for about a decade in the 1920s and 1930s. The population was 6,550 at the 2000 census...
.
External links
- "Arkansas Lt. Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller Dies at 57", New York Times, July 17, 2006
- "Lt. Gov. Win Rockefeller Dies Peacefully", Todaysthv.com July 17, 2006.