Former Congressman Ben Gilman Dies at 94

MIDDLETOWN, NY — Former U.S. Rep. Benjamin Gilman died Saturday at the age of 94.

The Poughkeepsie native was a congressman for parts of the lower and mid-Hudson Valley from 1973 through 2003, according to the Daily Freeman.

News 12 said Gilman graduated from Middletown High School and served under seven presidents during a 30-year term.

Rep. Nita Lowey, D-Harrison, called Gilman a “true legislator and a patriot.”

“He was steadfast in his belief in the importance of steady American leadership around the world,” she said, “a view cemented during his service as an Army Air Corps pilor in Japan during World War II.”

Lowey said Gilman was not afraid to cross party lines when he knew it was the right thing to do and was a staunch advocate for his constituents.

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said Gilman was “a moderate pro-environment Republican from the Northeast, which is rare today.”

Tittel said Gilman was instrumental in saving Sterling Forest by achieving funding for the 1990 Highlands Forest Service Study and helped pass the Highlands Conservation Act that allocated federal dollars to preserve open space in areas of Connecticut New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

“Ben will be missed,” Tittel said. “However, when yo ugo to Sterling Forest, you will see Ben Gilman’s legacy.”

Services for Gilman will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 20 at Temple Sinai, 75 Highland Ave. in Middletown.

For more details, read the Daily Freeman and go to News 12.

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons via Library of Congress.