Special to the Chickasaw Journal
TUPELO – Congressman Alan Nunnelee, who battled brain cancer and the effects of a stroke for eight months, died today at his home, surrounded by family members.
The 56-year-old Nunnelee had been in home hospice care since Jan. 26, when he returned home from North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo after doctors said his cancer had returned and was at a stage where no treatment would help.
“Congressman Alan Nunnelee has gone home to be with Jesus,” the family said in a statement. “He was well loved and will be greatly missed.”
Nunnelee was widely regarded by political friends and adversaries alike as an honest, hard-working politician and a good and generous man. The news that he was near death brought an outpouring of tributes and well-wishes to his family from public officials and private citizens in recent days.
Spokesman Morgan Baldwin had issued a statement on behalf of the family last Friday describing the status of Nunnelee’s health and leaving little doubt that the end was near.
Nunnelee, who in spite of his health struggles had been re-elected in November to a third term representing Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House, had undergone surgery in June for a mass discovered on his brain in May. The tumor was removed, but Nunnelee suffered a stroke during the operation which led to a loss of mobility on his left side and a couple of months without the ability to speak.
In addition to radiation and chemotherapy, he underwent extensive physical therapy and began to speak and walk again in the early fall. He made several public appearances and one trip to Washington for post-election Republican caucus meetings.
He was unable to return to the nation’s Capitol for the swearing-in of the new Congress in January, and U.S. District Judge Michael Mills instead administered the oath to Nunnelee in the hospital.
Nunnelee had repeatedly said he was determined to get well and return to his duties in Washington after several months of staying in touch with congressional business through his staff.
“Alan Nunnelee has been like a brother to me and was one of my dearest friends and companions,” Gov. Phil Bryant said in a statement. “I will miss him greatly. Deborah and I are praying for Tori and their children. He was the best man I’ve ever known.”
Nunnelee’s political career spanned two decades, beginning with his victory in a 1994 Mississippi Senate special election to succeed Roger Wicker after Wicker’s election to the U.S. House. He won a full term in the state Senate in 1995 and was re-elected three more times, eventually rising to Senate Appropriations Committee chairman.
He defeated incumbent Democrat Travis Childers for the congressional seat in 2010 and was re-elected in 2012 and 2014.
Throughout his illness, Nunnelee – who earlier in his life overcame the temporary loss of his eyesight – said he had been buoyed by his wife Tori’s support and encouragement and their shared Christian faith. They focused on gratitude for their blessings, he said.
“In the middle of tragedy,” he said in a November interview with the Daily Journal, “if you can have an attitude of gratitude, you get through the bad times.”
The Nunnelees are the parents of three grown children.
The vacancy Nunnelee’s death leaves in Congress will be filled by a special election. Gov. Phil Bryant will set the date, which must be no more than 60 days after it’s announced.
Candidates regardless of party all run on the same ballot in the special election, with the two top vote- getters moving to a runoff if no one gets a majority.
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