HARRISBURG – Gov. Edward G. Rendell today issued the following statement and expressed his sorrow regarding the passing of his Communications Director, Ronald H. Jury. Jury, 56, died Sunday in his home. He was appointed as the Governor’s Director of Communications on July 28, 2005 and oversaw the communications planning in the Executive branch.
“Ron was a sharp, smart and funny guy who will be deeply missed by many people especially the people in my office,” said Rendell. “Ron had a wonderful ability to persuasively outline my agenda and he made an extraordinary contribution in a short period of time.
“Ron had tremendous creativity and dedication to public service. In addition to all of the skills that he brought to his work, Ron was one of the most decent human beings that I’ve ever met. Despite a difficult battle with cancer, Ron never let his illness get in the way of serving the public and contributed to the very end.
“Midge, my staff and I will sadly miss Ron, and our hearts and prayers go out to his family and friends during this difficult time.”
In addition to serving Pennsylvanians from the Governor’s office, Jury was also very devoted to his alma mater, the Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, and he served the university in several capacities over the years. The Jury Fountain of Excellence, which he donated in 2003, will flow as a remembrance to him for years to come.
For 10 years prior to joining the Rendell Administration, Jury had been headquartered in the New York City area, most recently as the senior vice president for public affairs and the director of communications for Empire State Development Corp., New York state’s economic development agency. Prior to that, he was a director in the public affairs practice of Burson-Marsteller handling media consulting and strategic communications issues management and planning for global clients. From 1995 through 1999, he was the director of corporate public relations and communications for Lockheed Martin IMS, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation, a $35 billion Fortune 50 company.
Before moving to the New York area, Jury worked in Pennsylvania state government for 11 years, serving as a deputy press secretary in the Department of Transportation, a deputy press secretary to Casey and as a press secretary and director of marketing in the Department of Commerce, the forerunner of the Department of Community and Economic Development. He was a reporter at The Patriot News in Harrisburg, an editor at The Record-Courier in Kent, Ohio, and started his career as a writer and columnist at The Express in Lock Haven.
Jury was a Pennsylvania native who grew up in Bigler, Clearfield County, and received a bachelor’s degree in political science at the Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania. He completed postgraduate work in journalism at The Pennsylvania State University and in corporate and organizational communications at Fairleigh Dickinson University.