{"id":977184,"date":"2026-08-03T05:14:41","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T05:14:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/977184\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T05:14:41","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T05:14:41","slug":"former-us-rep-kay-granger-dies-at-83-leaving-a-lasting-mark-on-fort-worth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/977184\/","title":{"rendered":"Former US Rep. Kay Granger dies at 83, leaving a lasting mark on Fort Worth"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Jacob Sanchez, Fort Worth Report
August 2, 2026<\/p>\n

Bill Meadows, a former city council member, will remember his longtime friend and colleague Kay Granger as someone who rolled up her sleeves, quietly got stuff done<\/a> and painted a new vision for Fort Worth.<\/p>\n

Whether as mayor or a member of Congress, Granger looked for \u2014 and often came up with \u2014 solutions to problems facing her home, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cKay was never seeking attention or recognition. She just worked,\u201d Meadows said. \u201cThe result of her work was pretty profound in terms of the impact on Fort Worth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Granger, 83, died Sunday. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson announced her death in a post to X. In 2025, Granger retired after 28 years in the House<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cKay Granger devoted her life to serving her Fort Worth, Texas community \u2014 as a teacher and businesswoman, on the Fort Worth Zoning Commission and City Council, as mayor, and in Congress for nearly three decades, where she also served as chairwom<\/a>a<\/a>n of the House Appropriations Committee<\/a>,\u201d Johnson wrote in a post to X<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, speaks during a ceremony and portrait unveiling honoring former House Appropriations Chair U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, in Nov. 2024. (Courtesy photo | House Appropriations Committee)<\/p>\n

Granger broke many barriers for women during her life, Johnson said.<\/p>\n

She was the first Republican woman elected to represent Texas in the House. She was the first Republican woman to chair the House Appropriations Committee. In 1991, she was the first woman elected mayor of Fort Worth.<\/p>\n

Mattie Parker, the current mayor who once worked for Granger<\/a>, called the former congresswoman a trailblazer and a tenacious leader.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the years that I worked with Kay, I learned from her indelible spirit, work ethic, constant sacrifice, and unwavering commitment to Texas and Fort Worth,\u201d Parker wrote in a post to X<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m fortunate to have called her a mentor and friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S. Rep. Craig Goldman succeeded Granger in representing Fort Worth in Congress. In a post to X<\/a>, he said Texas lost a legend.<\/p>\n

“Kay Granger transformed the city she loved. Across her many decades of service to the Fort Worth community and all of (Texas’ 12th Congressional District), she worked tirelessly to improve the lives of those she represented,” Goldman wrote. “Kay will be greatly missed, but her incredible legacy will not be forgotten.”<\/p>\n

Meadows worked with Granger first on the city council where they were the freshmen of the governing body, he said. In the early 1990s, Fort Worth was reeling economically after an oil bust and real estate crash. Unemployment was high. The tax base was shrinking.<\/p>\n

The first budget Granger and Meadows worked on required painful decisions: a property tax increase and the elimination of 800 positions at City Hall.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an extremely painful time, but Kay inherited that,\u201d Meadows said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s where she proved herself. It was her leadership through that that really enabled Fort Worth to ultimately be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

She helped attract FedEx to Alliance, then in its early days of development, he said. She also helped lead the city to lower its murder rate through programs that economically revitalized neighborhoods, citizen patrol and providing more activities for young people.<\/p>\n

By 1996, Fort Worth was healing, Meadows said. Granger decided to run for Congress after then-U.S. Rep. Pete Geren decided not to seek reelection.<\/p>\n

\"\"U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, of Fort Worth, seen here during a 2024 event wearing her flight jacket in front of a restored YF-16 emblazoned with her nickname, retired from Congress in 2025. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n

In Congress, Granger championed Lockheed Martin, one of the largest employers in Fort Worth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe single-handedly, it seems, saved the F-35 program a couple of times and continued the F-16 program,\u201d Meadows said.<\/p>\n

Granger\u2019s defining legacy has yet to materialize, Meadows said: the $1.16 billion Panther Island project<\/a>. He said that although negativity surrounds the project now, he expects Panther Island will be considered a visionary project for flood mitigation and economic development<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The idea started with Granger talking to city leaders from Vancouver, Canada, who built a bypass channel to ease the flow of water on their levee systems, Meadows said.<\/p>\n

Through it all, Granger never sought recognition, Meadows said. That\u2019s just who she was. She was a former teacher who wanted to improve her home.<\/p>\n

She was a private person who didn\u2019t really have a public facing personality, he said. Her happy place wasn\u2019t in City Hall or the U.S. Capitol.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that she was happiest with her easel in front of her and painting,\u201d Meadows said. \u201cShe was a damn good painter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacob Sanchez is education editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org<\/a> or @_jacob_sanchez<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Disclosure: Bill Meadows is a member of the Fort Worth Report\u2019s board of directors. FWISD manager Pete Geren leads the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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