Roy Herron, a longtime Tennessee state legislator and former chairman of the state Democratic Party, died Sunday from injuries sustained in a personal watercraft accident. He was 69 years old.
Herron died at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, according to a statement from his family. He had been hospitalized since a July 1 collision with another jet ski on Kentucky Lake, in which he suffered internal bleeding and extensive injuries to his arm and pelvis, according to his family’s Caring Bridge website. .
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency was investigating the collision, details of which were not immediately available.
«Roy loved his family with all his heart,» said Herron’s wife, the Rev. Nancy Carol Miller-Herron. “He spent doing what he loved most: spending time with our children and their friends outdoors in Tennessee, where his spirit was always freest.”
Herron, a lawyer from Dresden, Tennessee, served a total of 26 years in the state House of Representatives and Senate, where he became a floor leader and chairman of the Democratic caucus. He never missed a session day, except when his youngest child was born, according to his website. He chaired the state Democratic Party from 2013 to 2015.
A graduate of the University of Tennessee at Martin, Herron was also one of the first students to earn joint degrees in divinity and law from Vanderbilt University. Herron, an ordained Methodist minister, is also the author of three books, including one titled «God and Politics: How Can a Christian Be in Politics?»
Funeral services were planned for Saturday at the First United Methodist Church in Martin.
Condolences arrived on Sunday. On Twitter, former Vice President Al Gore called his fellow Democrat from Tennessee «a dear friend and one of Tennessee’s most devoted citizens.» Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen called Herron “brilliant, diligent and honest. A politician destined for greatness. Republican Rep. David Kustoff said Herron «dedicated his life to serving West Tennessee and the entire volunteer state.»
Tennessee House Republican Caucus Chairman Jeremy Faison said on Twitter that he was «the kind of guy you couldn’t help but like.»
Joe Hill, a longtime Tennessean Democratic political operative who worked with Herron on several campaigns, said he «brought an enthusiasm for making health care more accessible to disadvantaged Tennesseans» when he was elected to the state House. . Hill said he also brought that commitment to «education, victims’ rights, environmental quality and so many other things that affect average people.»
“His legacy of advocating for ‘the least among us’ will represent the gold standard of service for Democrats and Republicans in Tennessee’s future,” Hill told The Associated Press on Sunday.
That nature applied to Herron’s friendships, too, Hill said. She recalled how Herron drove 140 miles (225 kilometers) to be with him and his family in Memphis after one of Hill’s sons was involved in a car accident.
“We left the house in such a hurry and we didn’t bring any extra clothes,” Hill said. “My wife, Susan, was freezing in the cold hospital waiting room, and Roy gave her her shirt so she could stay warm. That’s the kind of genuine human being that he was.»
In 2010, after briefly running for governor, Herron became the Democratic nominee in Tennessee’s 8th congressional district, when then-Rep. John Tanner announced his retirement, after more than 20 years in office. Herron ultimately lost the general election to Republican Stephen Fincher.
«When I retired, I expected him to win the job,» Tanner told the AP on Sunday.
After a tornado devastated his hometown of Dresden just before Christmas 2021, Herron organized a fundraising effort, amassing over $100,000 to aid recovery efforts.
“It’s an overused term, that he was a dedicated public servant, but that really was Roy,” Tanner said. «He worked tirelessly for the causes he took up and had a good heart.»