Colleagues describe him as “a remarkable man” and a “true public servant.”

Former Oklahoma Governor George Nigh, arguably Oklahoma’s most popular Governor, has died at the age of 98.

The McAlester native, who was Lt. Governor in 1962, had the unusual distinction of running for Governor, losing, but then serving as Governor for 9 days in 1963, when Governor J. Howard Edmondson resigned to fill the late Robert Kerr’s Senate seat.

He later won the office on his own in 1978 and went on to win re-election, the first Oklahoma governor to do so, by an even larger margin in 1982.

In that 1982 election, he also became the first Oklahoma Governor to win all 77 counties.

Nigh further made history by appointing the state’s first two female Supreme Court justices

Former Governor Brad Henry, a Democrat, said, “If I compiled a list of the top five people who had the greatest impact and influence on my life, George Nigh, along with my parents, would be on it.”

Former Governor Mary Fallin, a Republican, lauded Nigh’s bipartisanship and humility and said, “He was the kind of statesman every generation hopes for. Oklahoma is better because he walked among us and we will miss him.”

Later in his career, Nigh served as President at the University of Central Oklahoma from 1992 to 1997.

He is survived by his wife, Donna, his daughter, Georgeanne, and five grandchildren.