Former Pennsylvania Governor George Leader Dies At 95

By Tony Romeo

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) - Governor Corbett has ordered state flags lowered to half-staff in honor of former Governor George Leader, who died Thursday at age 95.

George Leader spent most his life being an ex-governor, having been elected at age 36 in 1954, when Pennsylvania governors were limited to one four-year term. He remained active all throughout his life, establishing a network of assisted living facilities with his family.

Governor Corbett says he and Leader became friends, "As a governor and in the years after public service, Governor Leader defied political labels and conventional thinking in a very tireless work for Pennsylvania and its people."

As proof of that, Leader appeared with Corbett in 2011 and praised the incumbent's budget-balancing efforts, "And I said, I don't think that's going to hurt you politically," Leader said. "I hate to say that as a Democrat to a Republican governor [laughter]."

Leader was involved in recent efforts to reform Pennsylvania's corrections system.