John A. Carver Jr

1918 - 2016

John A. Carver, Jr
April 24, 1918 ~ November 25, 2016
John A. Carver, Jr., Professor Emeritus, dies at 98. Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, Assistant Secretary and Under Secretary of the U. S. Department of the Interior in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, WWII veteran, and devoted father and grandfather, died peacefully of old age on Friday, November 25, 2016.
He was born in Preston, Idaho on April 24, 1918, the eldest of 7 children of John A. and Laverne Olson Carver. His father, who was blind, was U. S. Attorney for Idaho and a district court judge. He was a graduate of Brigham Young University with a law degree from Georgetown. As America was gearing up for war, he served in the Civilian Personnel Administration of the War Department in Washington, where he met and married Ruth O'Connor. During the war he served as a Second Lieutenant with the Strategic Bombing Survey, first in London, then in Tokyo. With the end of war, he returned to the War Department in Washington and completed his coursework at Georgetown Law, passing the bar exams for the District of Columbia and Idaho.In 1947, he returned to Boise, where he set up a law firm with two partners. In 1956, he served as campaign manager for Frank Church, who defeated the incumbent Senator and appointed him Administrative Assistant in his Senate Office. In 1960, Robert Kennedy asked Carver to run the Michigan campaign for the Kennedy/Johnson ticket. Following Kennedy's election, Carver worked with Sargent Shriver on the transition team, and was subsequently appointed and confirmed for the position of Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior for Public Land Management under Secretary Stewart Udall, where he oversaw the Bureaus of Land Management, Outdoor Recreation and Indian Affairs, the National Park Service, the US Trust Territories and the Alaska Railroad. President Lyndon Johnson appointed him Under Secretary in 1964. In 1966, President Johnson appointed Carver to the Federal Power Commission, the regulatory body responsible for licensing interstate electric power projects and regulating the sale and transmission of natural gas. He served as Commissioner until 1972, when he resigned to become Professor of Law at the University of Denver, where he continued to teach into his 90s.
John and Ruth spent their golden years traveling the globe together, serving as volunteer teachers in Russia, attending annual family gatherings at Camano Island in the Pacific Northwest, and ensuring that each and every one of their grandchildren could achieve their educational goals.In 2009 John and Ruth moved into the retirement community at Wind Crest in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, where they continued their active life, participating in the writers group, conducting seminars in the resident-led educational program, and making a new circle of friends.
John A. Carver, Jr. is survived by three children – Jay (Luisa), Craig (Monica Glickman), and Candace (Kit) Kramer – seven grandchildren and six great grandchildren.
For memorial service details, a full obituary, and to sign the Guest Book, please go to http://www.allveterans.com/obituaries/john-a-carver-jr-professor-emeritus/. Memorial donations may be made in John A. Carver, Jr.'s name to the Frank Church Institute at Boise State University.