Hugh L. Carey

Hugh L. Carey, the governor who helped save New York City from fiscal collapse in the mid-1970s, died Aug. 7 at his home on Shelter Island. He was 92.

A Funeral Mass will be offered by Archbishop Dolan at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Thursday, Aug. 11, at 10 a.m. Cardinal Egan, archbishop emeritus, will deliver the homily at the request of the family.

Carey, a Democrat who was the state’s 51st governor, served from 1975 to 1982. His death was announced in Albany by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who called him “one of our finest leaders.”

“Governor Carey led our state during a time of great financial turmoil and pulled us back from the brink of bankruptcy and economic ruin,” Cuomo said.

Cardinal Egan, in a statement, said, “It was with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Governor Hugh Carey. The Governor was a marvelous political leader and a dear friend. I will deeply miss his wise counsel and many kindnesses to me, during my years as Archbishop of New York and afterwards as well. He and his beloved family have a very special place in my Masses and prayers.” 

Bishop Howard J. Hubbard of Albany, chairman of the New York State Catholic Conference’s Public Policy Committee, who was named to lead the Albany Diocese two years after Carey became governor, called him “a superb public servant whose commitment to our nation and state was extraordinary.”

In a statement released on behalf of the Catholic Conference, the bishop said, “He demonstrated great vision and courage in confronting the fiscal crisis in New York City in a bipartisan fashion, while at the same time protecting the needs of the most vulnerable in our Empire State: the poor, children, the mentally ill and the elderly.

“The Governor was a role model of faith, integrity and civility in a society where such is needed today so desperately.”

After an inauguration speech warning New Yorkers that “the days of wine and roses are over,” Carey moved decisively to take control of the city’s finances as no governor had done before and to rein in the free spending and borrowing pattern that began under one of his predecessors, Nelson A. Rockefeller, a Republican.

After leaving office, Carey, a Catholic, received numerous honors and awards from the Church for his support for Catholic education and charities and for his pro-life stance.

Addressing the Lawyers Division of the Cardinal’s Committee of the Laity, which honored him with its St. Thomas More Award in 1993, Carey encouraged his listeners to continue to support Catholic education, to keep the Church’s principles at the forefront of their work and to consider restoration of respect for the sanctity of life “our number-one obligation.”

Born in Brooklyn, Carey was a graduate of St. John’s University and St. John’s Law School; he was a decorated veteran of World War II whose unit liberated the Nordhausen concentration camp.

He married Helen Owen Carey in 1947, and the couple had 14 children. She died in 1974. A second marriage to Evangeline Gouletas in 1981 ended in divorce in 1989.

Carey entered politics in 1960, with a narrowly successful challenge to a popular Republican incumbent for a congressional seat in Brooklyn. A strongly Catholic district, it drew voters to the Democratic line that year with the presidential candidacy of John F. Kennedy.

After seven terms in Congress and a failed mayoral bid, he entered the race for governor in 1974 after the death of his wife.

In Congress, Carey was a steadfast opponent of capital punishment and pushed for aid to parochial schools. But while he was governor, he did not oppose the use of Medicaid funding for abortions and in 1979 he vetoed a parental notification law for minors seeking abortions. He later said he would “eternally regret” that veto.

His Catholic honors in the archdiocese include Catholic Charities’ Panis Vitae Award and the Medal of Life Award from Pius XII Youth and Family Services. In 1993, he also chaired a special state panel that studied Catholic schools; the panel’s report called the schools an “educational asset” and recommended various tax credits to keep them open.

Carey is survived by his daughters, Alexandria McManus, Susan Dempsey, Marianne Hayes, Nancy Cassidy and Helen O’Neill; his sons Christopher, Michael, Donald, Bryan, Kevin and Thomas; and his brothers Denis, John and Martin. Three of his sons predeceased him: Peter, Hugh, Jr. and Paul.

A private burial was scheduled on Shelter Island.