Arkansas State Treasurer Mark Lowery died Wednesday morning at age 66. According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Lowery who had been suffering from medical problems, died surrounded by family.
Over the past year, Lowery suffered two strokes. On Tuesday, he announced his plans to retire at the end of September.
Lowery was sworn in as the state treasurer in January of this year. Before that, he served five terms in the Arkansas legislature, chairing the House Insurance and Commerce committee. He also drafted legislation focusing on voter ID laws.
Before he served in the legislature, Lowery was a newspaper editor, lobbyist and Chief of Staff to then-Lt. Gov. Mike Huckabee.
The state treasury will be led by Deputy Treasurer Eric Munson until a replacement is appointed to fill out the final two years of Lowery's term.
In a statement, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders called Lowery a lifelong public servant.
"To those who knew Mark, it was no surprise that he threw his hat into the ring and ran for the statehouse in 2012 – and it was even less of a surprise that in his decade-long tenure as a State Representative, he brought about several major reforms to Arkansas’ education system," the statement reads.
Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge also paid her respects to Lowery in a statement.
"I will miss seeing his smiling face and hearing his words of encouragement. We always enjoyed Mark’s good-natured company at political gatherings and Christmas receptions in our home. Arkansans have been blessed by his service to our great State," the statement reads.
