News

Cary Booker dies, was city native and father of newly elected Sen. Cory Booker

By Bill Moss, Published: October 27, 2013

Hendersonville native Cary Booker, father of Cory Booker, the newly elected U.S. senator from New Jersey, died on Oct. 10 after suffering from Parkinson's disease for several years.

An obituary by nj.com told of Booker's upbringing in Hendersonville.
"Cary Booker was raised by a single mother and her large extended family in Hendersonville, N.C. After high school, the whole town — his mother, her church, her friends and neighbors collected money so he could attend North Carolina College" in Durham, now N.C. Central University.
"He helped pay his $600 per year tuition by shining shoes, working construction jobs and washing dishes.
"He met his future wife in Washington, D.C., where they both were among the first black executives at IBM. The couple moved to New Jersey in 1969 and were both active in the Civil Rights movement.
"After Cory, their second son, was born, Cary Booker got promoted to the New York office of IBM and Carolyn got a job in White Plains, N.Y."
Here's a link to the full obit: http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/10/cory_bookers_father_dead_at_76.html