Alan Nunnelee

Patrick Alan Nunnelee (October 9, 1958 – February 6, 2015) was an American businessman and Republican politician who represented Mississippi’s 1st congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 until his death in 2015. Over the course of three terms in Congress, he contributed to the legislative process during a significant period in American history, representing the interests of his north Mississippi constituents. Before his election to Congress, he served in the Mississippi State Senate from 1995 to 2011, representing the 6th district.

Nunnelee was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and raised in a family active in the funeral insurance business. He graduated from Clinton High School in Clinton, Mississippi, in 1976 and went on to attend Mississippi State University. At MSU he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1980. During his college years he was diagnosed with a degenerative eye disease and lost much of his eyesight, becoming legally blind. His vision was later restored following cornea transplants, an experience that shaped his public speaking and personal testimony; before entering elective office he became a popular speaker, frequently crediting God, organ donors, and civic organizations such as the Lions Club for the restoration of his eyesight.

Following his graduation, Nunnelee entered the funeral insurance industry. He was employed by American Funeral Assurance Co., where he eventually became vice president of sales and marketing. His father also worked for the company, rising to the positions of president and chief executive officer. In 1996, Nunnelee and his father founded Allied Funeral Associates, Inc., and Allied Funeral Associates Insurance Company. He served as vice president and director of both entities, building a career as a businessman in the insurance and funeral services field before transitioning full-time into politics.

Nunnelee’s political career began in the mid-1990s. In 1995, when incumbent Republican State Senator Roger Wicker resigned his Mississippi 6th district seat to take up a position in the U.S. House of Representatives, Nunnelee ran for and won the open state Senate seat. He was subsequently returned to the Mississippi State Senate multiple times, reflecting strong support in his district. In 1999 he was re-elected to a second term unopposed. He secured a third term in 2003 with 69 percent of the vote and a fourth term in 2007 with 66 percent of the vote. During his tenure in the state legislature he became known as a conservative Republican voice and participated in the work of the Senate, including on fiscal and appropriations matters, in a period that overlapped with Wicker’s service in Congress.

In 2010, Nunnelee sought to move from state to federal office by running for Mississippi’s 1st congressional district, the seat once held by Wicker. In the Republican primary he received 52 percent of the vote, defeating Eupora Mayor Henry Ross, who received 33 percent, and political commentator Angela McGlowan, who received 15 percent. In the November 2010 general election he defeated Democratic incumbent Representative Travis Childers by a margin of 55 percent to 41 percent, earning a place in the U.S. House of Representatives beginning with the 112th Congress. After redistricting, he faced primary challenges in 2012 from Henry Ross and businessman Robert Estes; Nunnelee prevailed in the March 2012 Republican primary with 57 percent of the vote, while Ross received 29 percent and Estes 14 percent. In 2014 he ran for re-election without a primary opponent, the only member of Mississippi’s U.S. House delegation that year to be unopposed in a primary, and he won the general election with 68 percent of the vote.

As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nunnelee participated actively in the legislative and appropriations processes. He served on the powerful House Committee on Appropriations, where he sat on the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development; and the Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies. His committee assignments placed him at the center of federal spending decisions affecting agriculture, rural communities, energy infrastructure, and veterans’ services—issues of particular importance to Mississippi. In 2011 he became a co-sponsor of H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), reflecting his interest in intellectual property and online commerce regulation. He also participated in a variety of congressional caucuses, including the Congressional Diabetes Caucus, the Congressional Prayer Caucus, the Immigration Reform Caucus, the International Conservation Caucus, the Sportsmen’s Caucus, the Congressional Cement Caucus, and the Congressional Constitution Caucus, signaling a broad range of policy interests from health and faith to industry, conservation, and constitutional issues.

Nunnelee’s public life was closely tied to his religious faith and family. A Southern Baptist, he was active in his local church, serving as a Sunday School teacher and deacon. He married Tori Bedells, a native of Clinton, Mississippi, and a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi Nursing School. The couple had three children and later grandchildren, and Nunnelee frequently emphasized the importance of faith and family in his public remarks and in his approach to public service.

In May 2014, during his third term in Congress, Nunnelee’s health became a central concern when a mass was discovered in his brain. He underwent brain surgery at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Following surgery, he was transferred to TIRR Memorial Hermann Hospital for rehabilitation and later to Johns Hopkins Hospital to receive chemotherapy and radiation, as well as therapy to restore his speech and mobility on the left side of his body. Despite his serious illness, he continued to hold office and remained determined to fulfill his duties as a representative. Patrick Alan Nunnelee died at his home in Tupelo on February 6, 2015, at the age of 56, while still serving in Congress. His death prompted tributes from across the political spectrum. President Barack Obama, in an official statement from the White House Press Office, noted Nunnelee’s two decades of service to Mississippi as a state senator and congressman, his devotion to faith and family, and his perseverance in the face of illness. Funeral services were held on February 9, 2015, at Calvary Baptist Church in Tupelo, where family, constituents, and colleagues gathered to honor his life and public service.