Jody Powell, 65; was Carter's press secretary

WASHINGTON - Jody Powell, 65, who was White House press secretary and among the closest and most trusted advisers to President Jimmy Carter, died yesterday of a heart attack.

Mr. Powell, a member of the so-called Georgia Mafia that descended on Washington after Carter was elected in 1976, was stricken at his home near Cambridge on Maryland's Eastern Shore, said a close friend, Jack Nelson, a retired reporter.

Nelson said Mr. Powell had been working with firewood with a helper who briefly stepped away. Mr. Powell was found a short time later on the ground. He said Mr. Powell had had a previous heart attack in recent years.

Mr. Powell, who first worked with Carter during his campaign for Georgia governor in the late 1960s, joined Carter's presidential campaign in 1976. He was chief White House spokesman from 1977 until the end of Carter's term in 1981.

Later, Mr. Powell became a founder of the Powell Tate public relations firm in Washington.

Carter, in a statement, called Mr. Powell's death "a great personal loss" and said, "I will miss him dearly."

"Jody was beside me in every decision I made as a candidate, governor, and president, and I could always depend on his advice and counsel being candid and direct," Carter said.

A Georgia native known for his deep Southern drawl, Mr. Powell was among Carter's closest confidants, along with fellow Georgian Hamilton Jordan. Jordan died last year after a long battle with cancer.

At one point in his presidency, Carter said, "Jody Powell knows me better than anyone else except my wife."

Obama White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said that he had sought out advice from Mr. Powell, who "was always generous with his time and wise in his counsel."

"Jody served his country during a difficult time, and he always did the job with grace and good humor," Gibbs said.

Born on a cotton-and-peanut farm, Mr. Powell grew up in Vienna, Ga., and aspired to become an Air Force pilot. But he was expelled from the U.S. Air Force Academy his senior year for cheating. He went on to Georgia State University and later Emory University, where he earned a master's degree in political science.

He joined Carter's gubernatorial campaign as a driver and all-around handyman and stayed with him through his presidency.

Mr. Powell remained a staunch defender of Carter's presidency. When Republican Sen. John McCain frequently cited Carter in negative terms during last year's presidential campaign, Mr. Powell was quick to cite Carter's early warnings about the country's oil dependence and his early calls for clean-energy development.

Mr. Powell and the other Georgians who came with Carter did not always follow tradition when they arrived in Washington. They were fond of country music concerts and frequently wore blue jeans and T-shirts as they made the social scene.

But after leaving the White House, Mr. Powell remained and prospered as part of the same Washington establishment. He headed the public relations firm of Ogilvy & Mather, building it from about a dozen people to nearly 100 before leaving to found Powell Tate with Sheila Tate, former press secretary to Nancy Reagan.

In 1984, he published his memoirs, The Other Side of the Story. He also wrote a column for the Los Angeles Times and was an ABC News commentator.

He is survived by his wife, Nan; a daughter, Emily; three grandchildren; his mother, June, and a sister, Susan.

Dale Leibach, a longtime friend and business associate of Mr. Powell's since their days in the Carter White House, said the former president went to a nursing home where June Powell lives to tell her of her son's death before she heard it on the news.