Hinchey was a passionate advocate on many issues
including Medicare, a topic very much in the news today.
He discussed it in Monticello in 2012.
SAUGERTIES – Maurice Hinchey of Saugerties had a long career fighting for the people he represented in the State Assembly and later in the House of Representatives.
Now the 78-year-old is fighting for his life. His family announced Tuesday
that he is suffering from Frontotemporal Degeneration, a neurological
disease with no known cure.
“Knowing Maurice and his heartfelt desire to always help others, we know he would want to do everything possible to help raise awareness of this debilitating and terminal disease, and to understand its symptoms and progressions so families can plan for the long-term care necessary for this incredibly complex condition,” his wife Ilene Marder Hinchey said.
“I was fortunate enough to watch my dad fight for the people that needed him and his help, sometimes even more than I did,” said his daughter, Michelle Hinchey, in a Facebook post. “And boy did he fight, every day, to make sure those people had access to things that would make their lives even just a little bit better. Now it’s our turn. Growing up, you believe your parents are going to be around forever; and if not actually forever, then at least happily into their old age, enjoying retirement and the fruits of their labor. At least, that’s what you hope for. Unfortunately, life often throws a curveball and many of us don’t get to be that lucky.”
An emotional Hinchey announced his retirement in 2012
Assemblyman Kevin Cahill of Kingston, who succeeded Hinchey in Albany, has known Hinchey since Cahill interned for him in his early Assembly days.
Hinchey “a mentor, an inspiration, a thought leader and the exemplary public official to whom the rest of us aspire.”
Cahill said he has been aware of Hinchey’s health challenges. If by the family going public with his condition “serves the intended purpose of educating and sensitizing others to the health challenges we will all eventually face, then once again, Maurice Hinchey is demonstrating the kind of selfless leadership that has inspired many and made him a hero to his friends, colleagues and constituents.”
Hinchey served in the State Assembly from 1975 to 1992 and in the House of Representatives from 1993-2013.
