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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Ex-Carter aide Powell has fatal heart attack

Jody Powell, shown in 1980, died Monday at 65.  (File Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
H. Josef Hebert Associated Press

WASHINGTON – Jody Powell, who was White House press secretary and among the closest and most trusted advisers to President Jimmy Carter, died Monday of a heart attack. He was 65.

Powell, a member of the so-called Georgia Mafia that descended on Washington after Carter was elected president, was stricken at his home near Cambridge on Maryland’s eastern shore, said Jack Nelson, a retired reporter and close friend of Powell.

Nelson said Powell had been working with firewood with a helper who briefly stepped away. Powell was discovered a short time later on the ground. He said Powell had had a previous heart attack in recent years.

Powell, who first worked with Carter during his campaign for governor in Georgia in the 1960s, joined Carter’s presidential campaign in 1976 and served as chief White House spokesman from 1977 to 1981.

Carter in a statement called Powell’s death “a great personal loss” and said, “I will miss him dearly.

“Jody was beside me in every decision I made as a candidate, governor and president, and I could always depend on his advice and counsel being candid and direct,” Carter said. “No one worked more closely with me than Jody.”

After leaving the White House, Powell became one of the founders of the Powell Tate public relations firm in Washington.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday he was “deeply saddened” to hear of Powell’s death.

“Jody served his country during a difficult time, and he always did the job with grace and good humor,” Gibbs said. He added that he had sought out Powell’s advice when he became press secretary and that Powell “was always generous with his time and wise in his counsel.”

A man who at times could display his temper, Powell remained a staunch defender of the Carter presidency. When Republican Sen. John McCain frequently cited Carter in negative terms during last year’s presidential campaign, Powell was quick to cite Carter’s early warnings about the country’s oil dependence and his early calls for clean energy development.

After leaving the White House, Powell remained and prospered as part of the same Washington establishment. He headed the Washington public relations firm of Ogilvy & Mather, building it from about a dozen people to nearly 100 before leaving to found Powell Tate with Sheila Tate, former press secretary to first lady Nancy Reagan.

Powell is survived by his wife, Nan, his daughter, Emily, three grandchildren, his sister, Susan, and his mother, June Powell, in Americus, Ga.