Former State Senator Caskey dies

Former longtime Missouri state Sen. Harold Caskey has died following complications related to Parkinson’s disease.

Kay Caskey said her husband died Thursday at Shawnee Mission Medical Center in Kansas. He was 77.

She says he was taken there earlier this week from their Butler home after choking on food and losing consciousness. Kay Caskey says her husband had difficulty swallowing because of Parkinson’s disease.

Caskey first won election to the Missouri Senate in 1976 and served for 28 years before being forced out by term limits. The Democrat previously was the Bates County prosecutor

Caskey played a key role in Missouri’s school funding laws and in a measure allowing people to carry concealed guns.

He was vice chairman of the Missouri Capitol Commission, which oversees the building’s preservation projects.

Governor Jay Nixon issued this statement regarding the death Senator Caskey:

“Throughout his life, Harold Caskey was a true champion for the people of west-central Missouri and for working men and women all across our state.As a state senator, Harold’s leadership and depth of legislative knowledge had a real and positive impact on the lives of his constituents and helped guide many of his colleagues, including me during my six years in the Senate. Demonstrating that he would not let the loss of his sight keep him from continuing to serve the state that he loved so much, even during his later years Harold continued to be a strong advocate for Missourians who are blind or visually impaired. Harold’s intelligence, sense of humor and dedication to public service inspired us all. My thoughts and prayers, as well as those of the First Lady, are with Kay and all the members of their family.

United States Senator Claire McCaskill tweeted, “Senator Harold Caskey was a special man. Whip smart, strategic, loyal, & secretly a sweet softie. I learned so much from him. Prayers for Kay.”