Trailblazing US Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, a nurse from Texas who helped bring hundreds of millions of federal dollars to the Dallas area, has died.
Trailblazing longtime US Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, a nurse from Texas who helped bring hundreds of millions of federal dollars to the Dallas area as the region’s most powerful Democrat, died Sunday. She was 88.
« I am heartbroken to share the news that my mother, Eddie Bernice Johnson, has passed away, » Johnson’s only son, Dawrence Kirk Johnson, wrote on Facebook. « She was a remarkable and loving mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, and great-grandmother, as well as a trailblazer and public servant. While we mourn the loss of an extraordinary woman, we celebrate her life and legacy. She will be deeply missed. »
President Joe Biden, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, and many other leaders issued statements about her death after her son posted about it on Facebook. The Dallas Morning News also confirmed her death with an unnamed source close to the family. No cause of death was given.
Biden hailed her « immense courage » and called her « an icon and mentor to generations of public servants, through whom her legacy of resilience and purpose will endure. »
« She was the single most effective legislator Dallas has ever had, » the mayor said in a statement. « Nobody brought more federal infrastructure money home to our city. Nobody fought harder for our communities and our residents’ interests and safety. And nobody knew how to navigate Washington better for the people of Dallas.
