A Democratic lawmaker in Ohio has died this week after unexpectedly suffering a heart attack.
According to the reports, former state representative Hy Kloc has died at St. Alphonsus Hospital following a heart attack on December 6.
Hy, who was born 1947, was known to be the son of Polish Holocaust survivors, living in a displaced persons camp in Essen, Germany and lost much of his family in the Holocaust.
In a report released by Idaho News, it was revealed that “The Kloc family emigrated to the United State in 1950, settling in Brooklyn. Hy attended New York City Community College and Western Michigan University, and had a distinguished media career prior to entering public office, including working for the public radio both in Idaho and in Detroit, public television, and the Grammys.”
Former representative Hy Kloc has died following a heart attack last night. He served in the state house from 2012-18, and prior to his legislative career, was the development director of Boise State Public Radio.
— Troy Oppie (@GoodBadOppie) December 7, 2022
“Hy married Joan Wallace, the love of his life, in 1983, and moved to Idaho in 2000 where he soon gravitated towards public service, chairing the Boise Census Committee in 2010, and being elected to the board of the Greater Boise Auditorium District in 2011 and again in 2017,” the report added.
Hy was elected to represent District 16 in the Idaho House of Representatives and had held the office until he retired in 2018.
“Hy was a steadfast champion of early childhood education, introducing bipartisan legislation seeking to end Idaho’s status as one of the few states lacking public pre-k. As the son of Holocaust survivors, he was an unfailing advocate for refugees and the most vulnerable members of society, sponsoring Add the Words legislation every year and vigorously opposing all legislation he saw as discriminatory,” the report continued.
Following his death, several iconic public figures and the Democratic Party released official statements on Twitter.
“A son of Holocaust survivors, Rep. Hy Kloc understood the need to stand up to hate and injustice.
We honor and celebrate his life and and enduring legacy.” Idaho Democratic Party tweeted.
“What a loss but grateful for having shared the planet with Hy. My first morning in #idleg was spent at Hy Kloc’s press conference on early education. He blew me away and I’ll never forget his wisdom & compassion.” Representative Illana Rubel added.
