U.S. SENATOR JOHN CHAFEE OF RHODE ISLAND, 77, A FORMER WRESTLER, DIES FROM HEART FAILURESenator John Chafee of Rhode Island, 77, a former wrestler and a leader in the U.S. Senate, died of heart failure on October 24 at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland.
Chafee served four terms as a U.S. Senator from Rhode Island, and announced earlier this year that he would not seek a fifth term in 2000. His son Lincoln is seeking his seat. He won his first election for Senate in 1976, and was re-elected in 1982, 1988 and 1994.
Chafee also served six years as governor of Rhode Island, three years as secretary of the Navy and six years in the Rhode Island Legislature, including four years as the House minority leader.
He was elected to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as an Outstanding American in 1993.
Chafee was an undefeated freshman wrestler at Yale University in 1941, but had his career interrupted to serve in the U.S. Marine Corps in World War II. He took part in the invasion of Guadalcanal, one of the largest of the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific.
Upon his return to Yale, he placed second in the Eastern Intercollegiates and won a New England championship in wrestling. He earned a law degree at Harvard University in 1950.
He returned to the military in 1951 to serve during the Korean conflict, and reached the rank of captain. Chafee next worked as an attorney in Providence, R.I. before entering politics.
Chafee was considered perhaps the most popular Republican in Rhode Island history, an overwhelmingly Democratic state. He was respected for his work on health care issues and the environment. He served as a chairman of the Senate Republican Conference.
Born October 22, 1922, Chafee live in Rhode Island much of his life. He received honorary degrees from five universities and became a Chubb Fellow at Yale in 1965.
- taken from news sources and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.