Family, friends recall former New Jersey governor’s husband

BEDMINSTER (AP) — Family and friends including public officials have gathered to remember the husband of former New Jersey Gov. Christie Whitman.

Services for John Whitman took place Thursday at Lamington Presbyterian Church in Bedminster. Among those attending the closed services were Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr. and state Sen. Richard Cody.

A spokeswoman for the former Republican governor tells The New York Times the state's only first gentleman died July 2 after suffering a catastrophic brain injury in a fall in mid-June. He was 71.

Christie Whitman calls him "a wonderful husband, father and grandfather." She served as governor from 1994 to 2001.

John Whitman was an investment banker and a managing partner at Princeton-based Sycamore Ventures.

The Army veteran and Yale University and Harvard Business School graduate was born in Albany, New York.