Henry Bellmon, former Oklahoma governor and US senator, dies at 88, former chief of staff says

Former Oklahoma Gov. Henry Bellmon dies

OKLAHOMA CITY — Henry Louis Bellmon, who in 1963 became Oklahoma’s first GOP governor since statehood, has died. He was 88.

Bellmon’s former chief of staff, Andrew Tevington, says the former governor who also served two terms in the U.S. Senate died Tuesday after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Bellmon served two nonconsecutive terms as governor, one that began in 1963 and one that started in 1987. As the state’s first GOP governor, Bellmon was credited with making the party a viable force in state politics.

In 1967, he served as national chairman of the Nixon for President campaign. Bellmon then went on to win election to the U.S. Senate in 1968 and again in 1974.