LAWTON – Governor Kevin Stitt ordered flags to fly at half-staff last week as Oklahoma mourned the loss of former U.S. Senator James “Jim” Inhofe. State and community leaders remembered him as a great friend, a mentor and advocate for Oklahoma.
Inhofe died Tuesday, July 9, surrounded by family. His wife, Kay, held his hand.
James Mountain Inhofe, 89, was born to Perry Dyson and Blanche Phoebe Mountain Inhofe on Nov. 17, 1934, in Des Moines, Iowa.
Inhofe had two sisters and a brother, and the family experienced poverty during the Great Depression. As their father sought a better life, they eventually settled in Tulsa where his career in the insurance industry offered stability.
In a 2013 interview with John Erling of “Voices of Oklahoma,” Inhofe spoke about knowing future President Ronald Reagan in the late 1930s in Des Moines, when Reagan was a sports announcer for WHO radio. The radio station was located in the same building where Inhofe’s dad was a claims adjuster.
“He would come out to the house,” Inhofe told Erling. “I always thought he was an uncle or some relative.” Inhofe had become mayor of Tulsa when Reagan was elected President.
“I handled his domestic agenda, ”Inhofe said in an interview. “I would appear on all the TV shows saying what we should be doing. I worked very closely with him during the years that he was president.” Life Before Politics Inhofe graduated from Tulsa’s Central High School in 1953. After high school, he went to Boulder, Colorado, to attend the University of Colorado and worked as a head bartender at a local bar. He quit school to try his hand at gold mining with a friend in the White River Forest and, when it was discovered to be fool’s gold, Inhofe said he set his sights on the University of New Mexico.
A 1956 draft letter detoured his plans and he spent two years in the U.S. Army and reached the rank of Specialist 4. During his enlistment, Inhofe was stationed at Fort Lee, Virginia, at the Quartermaster Station in the Headquarters Department. After the Army, Inhofe worked in the fields of aviation, real estate and insurance.
In December 1959, he married his childhood friend Kate Kirkpatrick, who was also known as Kay. The couple had four children – Jimmy, Molly, Perry and Katy.
Political Career Inhofe began his journey into Oklahoma politics in 1965 when he began working on other candidates’ campaigns. Democrats were the majority at the time and he was “always, almost to a fault, a conservative,” he said in the “Oklahoma Voices” interview. “Some people would say today an extremist at that time, but I really felt that things were going in the wrong direction. So, at the state level, I started working in people’s campaigns.”
Inhofe’s political resume spans almost 60 years, from 1966, when he served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, to 2022, when he resigned from the U.S. Senate before his term expired due to health concerns. He served 28 years as a U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, which made him the longest-serving Congressman in state history.
He served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from 1967-1969; the Oklahoma Senate from 1969-1977; as mayor of Tulsa from 19781984; and taking oath of office on his 60th birthday, U.S. Senator from 1994-2022. Sen. Inhofe was the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, where he had previously served as chairman from late 2018 through 2020. He was also the longest-serving member of the Environment and Public Works Committee.
Tulsa World recently reported that throughout his political career, Inhofe won 28 out of 31 elections; faced 57 opponents and never experienced a runoff.
Impacting Southwest Oklahoma “Sen. Inhofe was always trying to figure out ways to come visit us,” said Mike Brown, Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army advisor at Fort Sill. “First of all, he was an incredibly great American and a great asset to Oklahoma, especially southwest Oklahoma. He will be greatly missed.”
Brown said that Inhofe was one of the major reasons he became a CASA almost five years ago.
“When I first came into service, he was a part of that. He was a great mentor. He was very dedicated to Oklahoma and told me, ‘You have an opportunity to help our home state. Always keep that in mind,’” Brown said.
Retired Army Lt. Col. Gene Love, a military defense consultant and Lawton community leader, also described Inhofe as a great Oklahoman.
“I knew Jim pretty well,” Love said. “He was not only a great Oklahoman, but also a great American. He was a bulldog in the defense industry and a great supporter of all our military.”
In addition to working in defense consulting, Love is also a board member of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. He said Inhofe was a great supporter of transportation, along with the military, in Oklahoma.
“In the charter of our country is national defense. Jim Inhofe supported that,” Love said. “He was the greatest supporter of the military in Oklahoma.”
Love recalled when cuts and closures were proposed for several military bases by the Department of Defense beginning in the late 1980s.
“Inhofe asked the person in charge of BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) to come to his office. The result was that Oklahoma didn’t lose anything. We received net gains. Fort Sill got the Army Air Defense Artillery School strictly because of Inhofe. Oklahoma was the only state in the country not to lose anything,” he said.
Dr. Krista Ratliff, President and CEO of FISTA (Fires Innovation Science and Technology Accelerator) in Lawton also said that Inhofe was a mentor to her.
“Senator Inhofe was a political giant that tirelessly advocated for southwest Oklahoma. Through his work, Fort Sill has expanded with two Cross-Functional Teams and has added many soldiers and families. Sen. Inhofe has had a profound personal impact on many people.
“He was a mentor to many leaders in Oklahoma, including me. Lawton-Fort Sill and southwest Oklahoma will forever be grateful for his dedication towards our growth and the security of our great state, and the nation,” she said.
Former President and CEO of the Lawton- Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce Brenda Spencer-Ragland also commented on the tremendous support that Inhofe gave to all f ive of Oklahoma’s military installations.
“You knew his love by the support he gave,” she said. “This [his death] is certainly a great loss to Oklahoma and the nation and a loss that will be felt.”
Spencer-Ragland recalled working on various projects and briefings with the senator. One project, in particular, was the support he gave when a grant was sought to build a new elementary school on Fort Sill. Prior to her role with the Lawton-Fort Sill Chamber, Ragland-Spencer served as the director of family, morale, welfare and recreation programs for Fort Sill. She also served as the director of Army Housing for Fort Sill.
State Rep. Trey Caldwell (R-Lawton) also remembered Inhofe’s influence in protecting Oklahoma military bases during the BRAC period.
“The passing of Sen. Jim Inhofe leaves a mountain-sized hole in the State of Oklahoma,” he said. “He was a vital part of securing our state’s future for over 50 years. His protection of Oklahoma military bases during BRAC was instrumental in moving Oklahoma forward into the 21st century. He will be sorely missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire Inhofe family.”
U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas from Oklahoma’s 3rd Congressional District described Inhofe as “the true embodiment of a public servant … from being a largerthan- life advocate for Oklahoma’s military installations to improving infrastructure across the state, Jim Inhofe has made an impact on Oklahomans that will be felt for generations.”
One of Oklahoma’s U.S. Senators, James Lankford, called Inhofe “Oklahoma’s favorite son … Jim was an institution in the Senate. His passion for our military, aviation, energy, infrastructure, Africa, and our personal freedom was vital for our state and our nation. He was a true legend and a force to be reckoned with.”
U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin won the special election to fill Inhofe’s seat when he retired in 2022. He said that Inhofe’s tenacity and enduring love for Oklahoma made him a titan in the Senate.
Inhofe is preceded in death by his son, Perry Dyson Inhofe II; parents, Perry and Blanche Inhofe; his wife’s parents, Glade and Marie Kirkpatrick; his sister, Joan Johnson; and his brother, Perry Dyson Inhofe Jr.
He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Kay Kirkpatrick Inhofe; son, James Mountain Inhofe II and wife Shannon; and daughters Molly (Jimmy) Rapert and Katy (Brad) Swan. Pop-I is also survived by his grandchildren Maggie (Cameron) Hillier, Molly Inhofe, James Inhofe, Glade Inhofe, Cole Inhofe, Jase Rapert, Luke Rapert, Jonah Rapert, Marie Rapert, Kate Swan, Ellie Swan, Jesse Swan; and his sister, Marilyn Davis.