Biography

11/06/1925 - 12/23/2019

Frederick Bernard “Fred” Rooney Jr. (D18) Northampton County 1959-1963

Early Life:

Frederick Bernard “Fred” Rooney Jr., born November 6, 1925, Bethlehem, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania; son of Fred B. and Veronica K. McGreevy Rooney; public school education; Bethlehem High School, 1944; paratrooper, United States Army, Auxerre, France, World War 1, 1944-1946; GI Bill, University of Georgia, Athens, Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), 1950; engaged, real estate, insurance business, 1950; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1959, resigned August 6, 1963; elected, Democrat, United States House of Representatives, Eighty-eighth Congress, special election, vacancy, death, Representative Francis E. Walter, reelected, eighty-nineth, ninety, ninety-one, ninety-two, ninety-three, ninety-four, ninety-five Congresses, 1963-1979, unsuccessful candidate for reelection, Ninety-sixth Congress, 1978; lobbyist, Cassidy and Associates, District of Columbia; established, consulting business; married, Evelyn Rooney, children, Timothy, Gregory and Martha Rooney Webb; died, December 23, 2019 (aged 94), Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; interment, Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 18th district, Northampton County, 1959, resigned August 6, 1963; appointed, chairman, Interstate Highway Commission. Gus Verona elected, November 6,1963 to fill vacancy, died March 6, 1964. Justin Jirolanio seated November 16, 1964.  

Continued Government Service/National Politics:

Elected, Democrat, United States House of Representatives, Eighty-eighth Congress, special election, vacancy, death, Representative Francis E. Walter, reelected, eighty-nineth, ninety, ninety-one, ninety-two, ninety-three, ninety-four, ninety-five Congresses, 1963-1979; member, House Transportation Committee, specialized, railroad issues; was architect, 1976 legislation that established Conrail, which took over the operation of potentially profitable railroad companies that had fallen into bankruptcy, including the Penn Central; unsuccessful candidate for reelection defeated, Donald L. Ritter, Ninety-sixth Congress, 1978.

Legacy:

Portion of Pennsylvania Route 378, Bethlehem from US 22 to the Hill to Hill Bridge, renamed, Fred B. Rooney Highway, recognizing his role in the creation of that portion of the highway. 

Nephew, T. J. Rooney, member, Pennsylvania House of Representatives, 133rd district, 1996-2006.

Cited:

Fred Rooney, former Lehigh Valley congressman, dies at 94". InsuranceNewsNet. 24 December 2019. 

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members "R"". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University. 

"Bill Information, House Bill 1468". Pennsylvania General Assembly. October 9, 2009. Retrieved November 12, 2018.

Frederick Bernard “Fred” Rooney Jr. (1925-2019) - Find a Grave Memorial