Jay Rockey

1928 - 2018

Jay Rockey

Jay Rockey, Director of Public Relations for the 1962 World's Fair, helped put Seattle on the map by persuading Life magazine to feature the fair on its cover, not once but twice. The publicity helped draw more than 10 million fair visitors in six months. The fair was the first international exposition to turn a profit.

Jay Rockey was born in 1928 and raised in Olympia, the middle of three sons. His father, McClellan "Chick" Rockey coached and taught at Olympia High School. His mother, Celia, was a teacher, pharmacist and a mom. By the time he was a teenager he had become "as big a leader as you'll ever find among young men." His appeal as a leader and his laid-back geniality were qualities that distinguished him throughout his life.

Rockey was the first athlete from Olympia High School to letter in all four major sports. He was quarterback in football, center in basketball and student body president.

In 1945 Jay graduated, enlisted in the Navy, and was posted to Hawaii. Jay then followed older brother Ward to Washington State College in Pullman, on the GI bill. He studied English, business, and journalism, and joined the Sigma Nu fraternity. Jay and brother Ward joined two friends to form The Four Spectacles, an acapella quartet that serenaded sororities and sang popular ballads at school dances.

He was recalled by the Navy, assigned to Korea. But while standing in line to be shipped out, he was recognized by an officer who knew his athletic reputation. On the spot Rockey was reassigned to San Diego and the Navy's championship basketball team.

After college Rockey worked at an Olympia newspaper and later United Press International. In 1953, he moved to Alcoa in Vancouver, Washington. He met Retha Inghram on a blind date, and they were married in 1954. Retha, a graduate of the University of Idaho, was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. Her parents ran the general store and post office in Lapwai, Idaho, headquarters of the Nez Perce Indian nation.

Shortly thereafter, Jay was offered a job as manager of Alcoa's PR department in New York City and headed east for seven years. Then, in 1960 Jay was unexpectedly offered a job with the Century 21 Exposition, a futurist pipe dream of Seattle boosters and grandees.

Immediately, Jay suggested changing the name "Century 21 Exposition" to "The Seattle World's Fair." Few people in 1960 could locate Seattle on a map. "Everyone knew what a fair was," Jay said, "But an exposition about the future? What is that?"

Rockey and his energetic staff secured 1,000 magazine stories and 50,000 newspaper articles including pieces in The New York Times, Sunset, Newsweek, and The Los Angeles Times. Life magazine ran a cover photograph of the Space Needle with untethered construction workers balanced 520 feet in the air on its rim.

The day after the fair closed, he opened his own firm, Jay Rockey Public Relations. It was later renamed The Rockey Company,

The Rockey Company become one of the most celebrated PR firms in the Pacific Northwest, named #1 in 1989 by the Puget Sound Business Journal. With offices in Portland, Anchorage, San Francisco, Spokane, Washington, D.C., and New York, the company's client list included Alyeska Pipeline, Boeing, Virginia Mason, British Airways, Washington Mutual, and Nintendo.

In 1976, Rockey was elected president of the Public Relations Society of America. He served on many boards including the Museum of Flight, Ryther Child Center, the Downtown Seattle Association and as vice president of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. He was president of The Rainier Club and on the board of Overlake Golf & Country Club. Jay co-chaired the 25th Anniversary celebration of the Seattle World's Fair with Don Covey, then president and CEO of Unico Properties. Jay received the Seattle Center's Legion of Honor medal.

An early "die hard Coug," Jay urged establishment of The Edward R. Murrow School of Communication. He served on the WSU Foundation Board of Trustees. As Chairman of the WSU Foundation from 1990-1992, Jay spearheaded a $275.4 million dollar campaign. He received WSU's Weldon B. Gibson Distinguished Volunteer Award. In 2002, the WSU student society chapter of the Public Relations Society of America was named in honor of Jay Rockey.

The Rockey Company was sold to Hill and Knowlton, a New York PR firm, in 2000. Retha died in 2009 after 55 years of marriage. In 2014, Jay moved to the Mirabella. At his 90th birthday, January 2018, he enjoyed music, dancing and visits from family and friends. He passed peacefully during sleep on February 24, 2018

Jay Rockey is survived by his brother Ward Rockey (Janet, deceased) of Los Angeles; brother Dean Rockey (Frances) of Whidbey Island; daughters Helen (Jay Aydelotte, deceased) and Susan, son David (Mary), from the Seattle area; and grandchildren, F. Jay, Christine (Parker), Anna and Colin.

The family thanks residents and staff at The Mirabella who cared for Jay, especially Nurse Jenny, Ali Macdonald and the SC Team. Thanks also to our dear family friend, Barbara Bye Goesling.



A Celebration of Life
is planned for Saturday, April 21
from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at
Chihuly Garden and Glass.

Details at https://www.jayrockey.net/

Jay and Retha would be proud to announce the newly created "Jay & Retha Rockey Communication Excellence Endowment" supporting The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, WSU. 509 335-6686, PO Box 641925, Pullman, WA 99164-1925.