Dr. Tom Coburn, the Muskogee physician who served three terms in the United States House of Representatives and then nearly two in the United States Senate, died Saturday, March 28, 2020, at the age of 72.
Coburn was first elected to Congress in 1994, as part of the so-called Republican Revolution. Keeping his campaign promise to serve no more than three terms, he retired from the House in 2001. He returned to public service in 2004, when he was elected to the United States Senate. He had vowed to serve no more than two terms in the Senate, but failing health forced his resignation before the completion of his second term, at the end of the 113th Congress in 2014.
Gov. Kevin Stitt ordered all U.S. and Oklahoma flags on state property to be flown at half-mast on Monday, March 30, 2020, in honor of Coburn’s legacy.
“We lost a giant, an Oklahoma legend,” Stitt said. “Dr. Coburn devoted his life to serving others both by his career as a physician and by tirelessly fighting for his country as a true statesman. Our state and our nation is (sic) better because of the lessons in fiscal responsibility we’ve learned from Dr. Coburn and I pray, especially in these trying times ahead of us, that we can find ways to ensure his legacy lives on.”
Rep. Frank Lucas, of Oklahoma’s Third District, offered his thoughts as well.
“I am saddened to hear the news of the passing of Senator Tom Coburn. His impact on the state of Oklahoma and Washington, D.C. will be long-standing,” Lucas said. “The Coburn family remains in the thoughts and prayers of my wife, Lynda, myself, and all of Oklahoma.”
A memorial service for Dr. Coburn is to be scheduled at a later date.