Hy Kloc, a prominent pre-K advocate during his six years in the Legislature, died earlier this week.

Kloc, 75, died of a heart attack Tuesday.

The son of Polish survivors of the Holocaust, Kloc was born in Essen, Germany. He grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., attended Western Michigan University, and worked for public radio in Detroit and Boise. Kloc and his wife Joan moved to Boise in 2000, when he took a job as development director for Boise State Public Radio.

He was first elected to the Legislature in 2012.

The Boise Democrat served on the House Education Committee. He quickly became a leading proponent of early education, pushing a bipartisan bill to create a pre-K pilot program. The bills never passed, and Idaho remains one of a handful of states that does not fund pre-K.

Kloc successfully pushed for a “pet friendly” license plate. Proceeds from the plate have surpassed $100,000, supporting the Idaho Humane Society.

Kloc served three terms in the House. He did not seek re-election in 2018.

More from James Dawson of Boise State Public Radio.