Richard J. Codey, the longest-serving state legislator in New Jersey history and a former governor, died on Sunday at his home in New Jersey. He was 79.
His family confirmed his death in a statement posted on social media that said he had a brief illness.
Mr. Codey, a Democrat, was a fixture in New Jersey, where for decades he worked as a third-generation funeral director, ran an insurance agency and coached youth basketball. This parallel life outside politics was frequently interrupted in the early 2000s, when a series of unusual events meant Mr. Codey kept getting called to serve as acting governor.
After 50 years in the State Legislature, Mr. Codey retired in January 2024, writing in a statement announcing his decision that some of his best memories happened at diners late at night, after a legislative session or a basketball game, when he spoke to constituents.
“So often I’d meet someone who recognized me and wanted to know if I could help,” Mr. Codey said. “I’d order a piece of lemon meringue pie and pick at it while I listened. You can’t believe the connections and friendships I forged over lemon meringue pie.”
His political career was forged in the State Legislature, where he served from Jan. 8, 1974, to Jan. 9, 2024.
In the early 2000s, though, he was routinely pulled away to temporarily serve as governor because he was next in the line of succession as president of the New Jersey Senate from January 2002 to January 2010.
In January 2002, he was acting governor for three and a half days. The New York Times reported that after the term ended, Mr. Codey would tell people: “During my tenure as governor there were no scandals or tax increases.”
Mr. Codey shared the short-term role with John Bennett, his co-president in the Senate, after the term of the acting governor, Donald T. DiFrancesco, expired before his successor, Jim McGreevey, was sworn in.
In November 2004, Mr. Codey became acting governor again after the resignation of Mr. McGreevey, who had revealed that he was gay and that he had had an extramarital affair. Mr. Codey’s term was longer this time, and he left office in January 2006. Before the term ended, he signed a law that removed “acting” from the title of interim governors who are in office for more than six months.
The governor’s powers were handed to Mr. Codey again several times during Jon S. Corzine’s governorship. Mr. Corzine was in a car crash in April 2007 that left him in critical condition, and he was unable to work for nearly a month. Mr. Corzine also frequently left the state for business and pleasure, leaving Mr. Codey as substitute. The New York Times reported in December 2007 that Mr. Codey had served as acting governor “on well over 100 occasions.”
Richard James Codey was born on Nov. 27, 1946, in Orange, N.J., the son of Donald Codey and Patricia Harling. Mr. Codey’s father and two of his uncles ran a family mortuary business started by their father.
Mr. Codey worked at the funeral home as a child and teenager, including working as a pallbearer, according to his memoir, “Me, Governor? My Life in the Rough-and-Tumble World of New Jersey Politics.”
He got his first lesson in politics while directing traffic during funerals, he wrote. His father told him to always find a parking spot for politicians and ministers or priests. “So I learned early that there are spheres of influence, Caesar’s and God’s, and you have to take care of both,” Mr. Codey wrote.
After graduating from high school, Mr. Codey received a bachelor’s degree in education from Fairleigh Dickinson University and entered politics.
He also took over his family’s funeral business and was president of an insurance company for 25 years. He severed ties to his insurance company in 2004 to avoid a conflict of interest and sold the business in 2008. He returned to insurance some time later and ran an insurance agency, as well as the funeral business, after his retirement from politics.
He was an assemblyman from 1974 to 1982 and a state senator from 1982 to 2024. He was known for backing public health issues, especially those that improved access to mental health care. In 1987, he worked undercover as an orderly at Marlboro Psychiatric Hospital, leading him to support legislation that increased the scrutiny of applicants for jobs at state institutions. In 2012, he founded the Codey Fund for Mental Health with his wife, Mary Jo Codey, who spoke openly about her experience with postpartum depression.
Mr. Codey’s survivors include his wife, as well as his two sons, Kevin and Christopher, and his grandchildren.
In May, the welcome center at the New Jersey State House was renamed the “Governor Richard J. Codey Welcome Center” in honor of Mr. Codey’s legacy in the state.
In Mr. Codey’s retirement announcement, he said that being raised in a funeral home had taught him about public service, and that being a funeral director was similar to being a legislator.
“They’re always on the job, and you can’t allow yourself to be pushed out a door when people are hurting or need someone to hear them,” he said. “I have always loved listening to you.”
Amanda Holpuch covers breaking news and other topics.
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