U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, R-Arlington, died Feb. 7 of COVID-19. His office confirmed his death and said that additional information will be available on funeral arrangements and ways to honor Mr. Wright in the days to come.
He was 67.
“Over the past few years, Congressman Wright had kept a rigorous work schedule on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives and at home in Texas’ Congressional District 6 while being treated for cancer,” his office said. “For the previous two weeks, Ron and Susan had been admitted to Baylor Hospital in Dallas after contracting COVID-19.”
“America has lost a great Texas statesman, and I have lost a cherished friend. Ron Wright was a man of quiet strength and down-to-earth inspiration,” said U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth.
“Few of us have been tested the way Ron had. I saw firsthand the courage and optimism he showed in his fight against lung cancer. All of us, though, can aspire to his commitment to always put the greater good above our own.”
The statement said that Mr. Wright and his wife, Susan, “shared a deep and abiding relationship with their Lord and Savior. For that reason, Ron remained stoic in the face of his health challenges and incredibly upbeat about the future of the state and the nation he loved so much.”
U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, said he was greatly saddened to hear of Mr. Wright’s death.
“Ron was a colleague and a very dedicated public servant for the people of North Texas. I had the privilege of first meeting Ron many years ago when both of us served as congressional staffers working for two former Texas Congressional members and since then I have had the opportunity to work alongside him when he served in local government, and then most recently as a fellow member of the U.S. House of Representatives serving a district that is close to mine,” Veasey said.
“While we had very different views on many things, he was a man of honor who fought for what he believed in and had a passion for serving the people of Texas’ 6th district in Congress. I am praying for his wife, children, grandchildren, and his dedicated congressional staff during this time,” Veasey said.
The office said that he will be remembered a constitutional conservative.
“He was a statesman, not an ideologue. Ron and Susan dedicated their lives to fighting for individual freedom, Texas values, and above all, the lives of the unborn,” the statement said.
“As friends, family, and many of his constituents will know, Ron maintained his quick wit and optimism until the very end. Despite years of painful, sometimes debilitating treatment for cancer, Ron never lacked the desire to get up and go to work, to motivate those around him, or to offer fatherly advice.”
“Amid his long cancer treatment and Coronavirus, he never wavered in his fight to lower drug costs and foster medical innovation for all Americans. He was an ardent champion of the values of our great home state and a reliable partner in advancing the interests of our beloved North Texas,” Granger said in her statement.
Mr. Wright is survived by his wife, Susan; his son Derek; his son Justin and wife Susan; his daughter Rachel and husband Jeff; his brother Gary and wife Janis; nine grandchildren; cousins and extended family.
Read a profile of Wright here.