Megan Marshack, journalist and assistant to former Vice President Nelson Rockefeller, died in California at the age of 70.
After decades of silence, Marshack used a self-written obituary to sensationally reveal new details about her ties to the former New York governor.
Although neither confirming nor denying an affair, Marshack, who was at the center of a firestorm of speculation surrounding Rockefeller’s sudden death in 1979, dropped a surprising hint about their relationship.
She finishes the obituary with a quote from a song from ‘A Chorus Line’: ‘…I won’t forget, I can’t regret what I did for love.’
Marshack died on October 2 of liver and kidney failure, according to the self-written obituary posted by a funeral home in Sacramento, California. Her brother said she died at a residential medical center in Sacramento.
Meghan Marshack, an aide to former New York Governor and Vice President Nelson Rockefeller and with him when he died, died in California at age 70.
After decades of silence, Marshack revealed some facts about his interactions with Rockefeller in his obituary.
The aide, who had a long and varied career in journalism, suddenly gained national attention after the four-time Republican governor collapsed and died of a heart attack on the night of Jan. 26, 1979.
Changing explanations about the details of that night fueled speculation about the death of the 70-year-old member of the wealthy Rockefeller family and the nature of his relationship with his 25-year-old investigator.
It was originally announced that Rockefeller died in his Rockefeller Center offices.
But a family spokesman later said Rockefeller had been working on an art book in his private offices elsewhere in Manhattan when he was attacked.
There were also discrepancies with the time of his death and who was with him. Marshack was not initially identified as being with him when he died.
Marshack remained silent about what happened and became a “mystery woman” harassed by journalists.
She told reporters outside her brother’s California apartment: “I’m sorry, I have nothing to say.”
His continued silence earned him a place on People magazine’s list of the 25 “most intriguing personalities” of 1979, along with actress Meryl Streep and author Tom Wolfe.
The obituary, first published in The New York Times, sheds no new light on the night of Rockefeller’s death or the nature of their relationship beyond work.
Changing explanations about the details of that night fueled speculation about the death of the 70-year-old member of the wealthy Rockefeller family and the nature of his relationship with his 25-year-old investigator.
Marshack, who had a long and varied career in journalism, suddenly gained national attention after the four-time Republican governor collapsed and Gerald Ford’s vice president died of a heart attack on the night of January 26, 1979.
“All I know is that they were very good friends. Beyond that, I don’t know,” Jon Marshack said in a telephone interview Thursday. “She never talked about it with me and I never butted in.”
Jon Marshack believes his sister signed a confidentiality agreement.
She was working for the AP as a radio reporter in 1975 when she tried to get Rockefeller’s attention at a news conference where he was answering questions in Spanish.
After addressing him as ‘Mr. Vice President’ and presenting her case in Spanish, she switched to English to ask Rockefeller his question about New York City’s fiscal difficulties, drawing laughter from the room full of reporters.
The couple left the room together, according to the obituary.
Marshack served as deputy press secretary to the vice president in 1976, Rockefeller’s last year in public office, and continued working for him when he returned to private life.
She remained his deputy press secretary, worked as director of his art collection and took on other duties, according to her obituary.
He returned to journalism after Rockefeller’s death, working in CBS’s news distribution unit before leaving New York, according to his obituary.
Marshack met her future husband, Edmond Madison Jacoby, Jr., in Placerville, California, when they both worked for a local newspaper.
They were married in August 2003 at the county courthouse, where she was covering the legal proceedings. He died before her.
He is survived by his brother.
