Former Missouri congressman dies at 81

Former Missouri Congressman Ike Skelton died yesterday at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, Va. He was 81.

For 34 years, Skelton represented Missouri's 4th Congressional District - which includes portions of Webster, Dade, Dallas and Polk counties within the Springfield metropolitan statistical area - in the U.S. House of Representatives. Skelton's cause of death has not been released, but according to an Associated Press report, he entered the hospital a week earlier with a bad cough.

Skelton, a Democrat who built a reputation as a social conservative and military expert, won his first of 17 congressional terms in 1976 and held the job until his 2010 defeat by Republican Vicky Hartzler, who continues to represent the district. After losing his seat, he became a partner with Kansas City-based law firm Husch Blackwell LLP, working out of Kansas City and Washington, D.C., according to the AP report. Skelton also received numerous honors, including the Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor Award, an Air Force exceptional service award and medals from the U.S. Army and Navy, according to his Husch Blackwell profile.

At the time of his loss to Hartzler, Skelton was chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.

"No member of the Congress was more dedicated to America's defense and those who defend us than Ike Skelton," U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said in a statement. "He loved our country and its history and will be remembered for his contributions to both."

Skelton helped bolster forces at Missouri's Fort Leonard Wood, among other contributions.

Skleton also was a former prosecutor in his native Lexington, Mo.

“A friend to Missourians, Americans and liberty-loving people worldwide, Congressman Skelton embodied the true meaning of public service and will forever be remembered as a leader who left a legacy of greater prosperity and security for his district, our state and our nation," Gov. Jay Nixon said in a statement.