Born in Providence, Rhode Island, J. JOSEPH GARRAHY attended the University of Buffalo and the University of Rhode Island. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. He was a Rhode Island state Senator from 1963 to 1969, and in 1967 and 1968 served as Deputy Majority Leader of the Senate as well as Democratic State Chairman. He was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1968 and reelected in 1970, 1972, and 1974. While governor, Garrahy chaired the England Regional Commission and the Coalition of Northeastern Governors. After leaving office, he became an independent business consultant. He is a director of both the Southeastern New England Shipbuilding Corporation (SENESCO) and the Providence and Worcester Railroad Company. And he has served on the Rhode Island Cancer Council and the Rhode Island Bays, Rivers, and Watersheds Coordination Team at the University of Rhode Island.