For years, Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas worked beside long-time Democrat Eddie Bernice Johnson in her former capacity as the first Black woman to chair the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, the committee now chaired by Lucas.
He rememberered her fondly after she died Sunday at the age of 88 following her department in January from the House.
“I’m deeply saddened by the passing of Eddie Bernice Johnson. We worked side by side for years and I was proud to call her a friend in addition to a colleague,” said Lucas in a statement.
“She was a trailblazer in every sense of the word and I was continually impressed by her dedication to public service. EBJ, as I affectionately called her, was an old school legislator who sincerely cared about the cause of advancing American science. It was a privilege to serve as the Ranking Member during her chairmanship of the House Science Committee.”
Rep. Johnson was considered one of the most prominent Democrats from the Dallas area. No cause of death was given. She was born in Waco and grew up in the South.
U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, one of the most prominent Democrats from the Dallas area, died on Sunday at the age of 88.
Johnson spent three decades in the U.S. House after becoming the first registered nurse elected to Congress and the first Black chief psychiatric nurse at Dallas’ Veterans Affairs hospital.