John M. Couric

The Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) — John M. Couric, father of television journalist Katie Couric, has died. He was 90.

Couric's son, John M. Couric Jr., said Thursday night his father died Wednesday at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington of complications from Parkinson's disease.

Services will be private.

The Washington Post first reported Couric's death.

The elder Couric, a Georgia native, retired in 1985 as a writer with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He started his career as a reporter for the Atlanta Constitution and United Press before going into public relations work in 1957.