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Robert L. Rock

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Robert L. Rock
30th Mayor of Anderson, Indiana
In office
1972–1980
Preceded byJ. Ed Flanagan
Succeeded byThomas R. McMahan
50th Lieutenant Governor of Indiana
In office
January 11, 1965 – January 13, 1969
GovernorRoger D. Branigin
Preceded byRichard O. Ristine
Succeeded byRichard E. Folz
Member of the
Indiana House of Representatives
from Madison County
In office
November 5, 1958 – November 4, 1964
Preceded byMulti-member district[1]
Succeeded byMulti-member district
In office
November 3, 1954 – November 7, 1956
Preceded byMulti-member district
Succeeded byMulti-member district
Personal details
Born(1927-09-08)September 8, 1927
Alexandria, Indiana, U.S.
DiedJanuary 9, 2013(2013-01-09) (aged 85)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Mary Jo Ferguson
(m. 1956)
ChildrenFour
Alma materIndiana University
OccupationPolitician

Robert L. Rock (September 8, 1927 – January 9, 2013) was an American politician who served as the Lieutenant Governor of Indiana from 1965 to 1969 and as the Mayor of Anderson, Indiana, from 1972 to 1980. He was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Indiana in 1968, but lost to Republican Edgar Whitcomb.

Early life

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Born in Alexandria, Indiana, Rock grew up in Anderson, Indiana. He served in the United States Navy during World War II as a hospital corpsman at Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego, California. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in business in 1951.[2]

Political career

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In 1954, at the age of 26, Rock was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives as a Democrat serving in the 1955, 1959, 1961, and 1963 sessions. Then he served as Lieutenant Governor of Indiana from 1965 to 1969. In 1968, Rock won the Democratic nomination for Governor of Indiana, but lost the general election to Republican Secretary of State Edgar Whitcomb. He later served as Mayor of Anderson, Indiana from 1972 to 1980, where he established the Anderson Housing Authority Commission and the City of Anderson Transportation System (CATS).

Personal life

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In 1956, he married Mary Jo Ferguson with whom he had four children and later eight grandchildren.

Death

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Rock died in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on January 9, 2013, at the age of 85.[3][4][5]

References

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Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Governor of Indiana
1968
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Indiana
1965 – 1969
Succeeded by