Oklahoma’s longest-serving United States Senator James M. Inhofe passed away at 4:48 a.m. after a stroke on July 9.

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.

The family is very grateful for the extraordinary care given by staff and doctors of the 7th floor NeuroTrauma Intensive Care Unit of St. Johns Hospital in Tulsa.

Inhofe served his beloved state in many capacities over the years, including in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, the Oklahoma State Senate, 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.