Governor Tom Wolf ordered the United States and commonwealth flags on all commonwealth facilities, public buildings and grounds fly at half-staff to honor former U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, 56, who died Monday after a battle with cancer.
Republican Fitzpatrick represented Bucks County from 2005 to 2007, losing his seat to Democrat Patrick Murphy in 2006. He returned to Congress in 2010, winning his seat back and holding it from 2011 to 2017. He voluntarily retired from the House at the end of 2016, and his brother Brian won the seat.
“Mike Fitzpatrick honorably served Bucks County as a commissioner and as a congressman, fighting to make our communities stronger and find compromise in a bipartisan way,” said Gov. Wolf. “After receiving a cancer diagnosis in the prime of his life, he chose to not just courageously fight, but to share his story with the hope of giving strength to others. He will be greatly missed, and we offer our deepest condolences to his family and friends.”
“My heart is broken,” Brian Fitzpatrick tweeted Monday. “My big brother Mike was my hero and my best friend. Ever since I was little, I wanted to live up to him and be like Mike in every way. He was the greatest brother and the greatest public servant our community has ever known.”
“Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick served our commonwealth and country with great integrity, competence, and dignity,” said U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey. “During his time as a Bucks County Commissioner, and then as a member of Congress, Mike proved time and again that it is possible to work across the aisle to make progress while remaining true to one’s principles.”
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