New Jersey mourns ‘The Gov’ as Richard Codey to lie in state

⚫New Jersey's longest-serving lawmaker died on Sunday

⚫Richard Codey will lie in state at the New Jersey Statehouse on Jan. 22

⚫Gov. Phil Murphy is expected to order flags flown at half-staff statewide

TRENTON — Former Governor and state Sen. Richard Codey will lie in state at the Statehouse on Jan. 22.

The Democrat, who was the state's longest-serving lawmaker, died Sunday at the age of 79 after a brief illness. He was first elected to the Assembly in 1974 and to the state Senate in 1982. In 2004, Codey held the state’s top job while also remaining Senate president for 14 months. Since then, New Jersey created the elected office of lieutenant governor to serve in the absence of a governor.

According to his obituary, "The Gov" will lie in state between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Additional details were not disclosed.

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Lying in state at the New Jersey Statehouse

Visitation will take place at St. John’s in Orange on Fri., Jan. 23 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. His funeral mass will be at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark on Sat., Jan. 24 at 10 a.m.

One of Gov. Phil Murphy's final acts in office will likely be an executive order to fly flags at half-staff in Codey's honor at all state buildings and facilities. When former Gov. Jim Florio died in 2022, flags were lowered for two weeks.

Previous reporting by Sergio Bichao was used in this report

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