Former US Sen. Jim Inhofe Dies At 89

Former United States Senator from Oklahoma Jim Inhofe has died at the age of 89, according to sources.

Inhofe served as a United States senator from Oklahoma from 1994 to 2023. He is the longest-serving U.S. senator from Oklahoma.

His family released the following statement after his death,

"Oklahoma’s longest-serving United States Senator James M. Inhofe passed away at 4:48 am this morning after a sudden illness over the holiday.

He passed peacefully, surrounded by his wife Kay, and his three surviving children, Molly, Jimmy and Katy. His son Perry passed away several years ago in a private airplane accident in Tulsa.

Inhofe served his beloved state in many capacities over the years. Including in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, the Oklahoma State Senate, as Mayor of Tulsa, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate since 1994. He retired from the Senate in 2023.

In the U.S. Senate he served as chairman of the Armed Services Committee and as Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee. The lifelong aviator once flew a small plane around the world and passed the Pilot’s Bill of Rights."

Inhofe was born in Iowa but grew up in Tulsa, attending Central High School and the University of Tulsa. Before his time in the Senate, he served in the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1994 and was the 32nd Mayor of Tulsa from 1978 to 1984. According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, he is a veteran who served in the U.S. Army in the 1950s.  

Inhofe also worked in aviation, real estate, and insurance; he was president of Quaker Life Insurance Company before entering politics.

He is survived by his wife, Kay Inhofe, and three of their four children. 

Sources say he passed peacefully and surrounded by family after a sudden illness over the 4th of July holiday.

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