The oldest brother of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Donald Reed Herring, has died from the coronavirus, the senator said Thursday.

The former Democratic presidential candidate said her brother died Tuesday evening. He spent his career in the military after joining the U.S. Air Force at the age of 19 and was "charming and funny, a natural leader," Warren tweeted.

“I’m grateful to the nurses and frontline staff who took care of him, but it’s hard to know that there was no family to hold his hand or to say ‘I love you’ one more time—and no funeral for those of us who loved him to hold each other close. I’ll miss you dearly my brother," she said.

The Boston Globe reported that Reed, 86, died in Norman, Oklahoma, about three weeks after testing positive for the virus.

Herring flew B-47 and B-52 bombers for the Air Force, and flew 288 combat missions in Vietnam, the newspaper reported. He served as a B-52 squadron pilot and a squadron aircraft commander before retiring in 1973 as a lieutenant colonel.

“What made him extra special was his smile—quick and crooked, it always seemed to generate its own light, one that lit up everyone around him,” Warren said.

Share:
More In Culture
Los Angeles Opens Its First Tiny Home Village to Ease Homeless Crisis
Tiny homes have been promoted as the solution to all kinds of housing needs — an affordable option in expensive big cities and simplicity for people who want to declutter their lives. They are increasingly used as shelter for homeless people in other California cities, including San Jose and Sacramento, as well as nationally in Seattle, Minneapolis and Des Moines, Iowa.
The Unforeseen Consequences of the American Interstate System
Eisenhower’s interstate system was the biggest infrastructure project of its time. What justified the cost was its potential to connect all corners of America, but the unforeseen impacts of the highway system seemed to do the opposite of the intention.
Load More