Elizabeth Warren is mourning the death of her eldest brother from the novel coronavirus.
Donald Reed Herring, 86, died Tuesday night in their hometown of Norman, Oklahoma, after testing positive for COVID-19. The Massachusetts senator and former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate described him as “charming and funny” and “a natural leader” in a series of Thursday tweets about the Vietnam War combat veteran.
“What made him extra special was his smile — quick and crooked, it always seemed to generate its own light, one that lit up everyone around him,” Warren, 70, wrote.
She added, “I’m grateful to the nurses and frontline staff who took care of him, but it’s hard to know that there was no family to hold his hand or to say ‘I love you’ one more time — and no funeral for those of us who loved him to hold each other close. I’ll miss you dearly my brother.”
My oldest brother, Don Reed, died from coronavirus on Tuesday evening. He joined the Air Force at 19 and spent his career in the military, including five and a half years off and on in combat in Vietnam. He was charming and funny, a natural leader. https://t.co/b8m0xKzAmM
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) April 23, 2020
I’m grateful to the nurses and frontline staff who took care of him, but it’s hard to know that there was no family to hold his hand or to say “I love you” one more time—and no funeral for those of us who loved him to hold each other close. I’ll miss you dearly my brother. pic.twitter.com/oOG6HArEL6
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) April 23, 2020
The Boston Globe reported that Warren last spoke to Herring, who opened an autodetailing business after retiring from the U.S. Air Force in 1973 as a lieutenant colonel, on Sunday. He had been in a rehabilitation center after contracting pneumonia following a cancer diagnosis. He was tested for COVID-19 at the start of this month, but he wasn’t moved to an intensive care facility until mid-April.
Herring is survived by Warren and two other brothers, his second wife Judith Anne Hart, and two sons. Warren frequently mentioned her brothers during her White House campaign.
