The Oklahoma House paid tribute Monday to Rep. David Brumbaugh, who died suddenly this weekend at 56.
House business waited half an hour as Brumbaugh’s colleagues honored the three-term state legislator. Members sang "Amazing Grace," and a few spoke about Brumbaugh. The Rev. Derrek Belase’s invocation focused on him.
"Rep. Brumbaugh’s deeds will live on well beyond his life, and most of them will not be found in House journals dating back to 2010, as important as those are, but in the way that he lived, led and loved," Belase said.
Rep. Mike Ritze said Brumbaugh’s colleagues noticed this session taking a physical toll on him. Ritze lives about 10 minutes from the Brumbaughs in Broken Arrow and took Shelley Brumbaugh to the hospital after her husband collapsed.
"David told me — he said, ‘You know, someday, Doc, you and I are going to sit out on your back porch and look at those cows in our rocking chairs.’ He’s rocking with Jesus now," Ritze said.
Rep. George Faught helped Brumbaugh with his first campaign and recalled challenges getting his last name into a logo.
"He had a blue background with white letters. In the hot July summers knocking doors, I never realized how hot that blue block got on your T-shirt," Faught said. "For those of you who have dark logos, you probably know what I’m talking about, when you’re walking neighborhoods and you feel this heat on your chest. And I’m thinking, 'What is going on?' and I realized that was it."
The official cause of Brumbaugh’s death has not been determined. Funeral services will likely be Saturday in Broken Arrow.
