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Ex-S.C. Sen. Strom Thurmond Dies at 100 (DAVID ESPO, 6/26/03, AP)

Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, a one-time Democratic segregationist who helped fuel the rise of the modern conservative Republican Party in the South, died Thursday. He was 100 and the longest-serving senator in history.

Thurmond died at 9:45 p.m. after having been in poor health in recent weeks, his son Strom Thurmond Jr. said. He had been living in a newly renovated wing of a hospital in his hometown of Edgefield, S.C., since he returned to the state from Washington earlier this year.

"Surrounded by family, my father was resting comfortably, without pain, and in total peace," Thurmond Jr. said in a statement released by the hospital.

Speaking of populists, he was one of the greats, though he made a grave mistake by joining the popular side of the race issue.

MORE:
Strom's legacy will be his service to the state and people he loved (The State, Jun. 26, 2003)
Strom Thurmond, Foe of Integration, Dies at 100: Strom Thurmond of South Carolina was a central figure in the political transformation of the South and the longest-serving senator in American history. (ADAM CLYMER, 6/27/03, NY Times) Posted by Orrin Judd at June 27, 2003 12:03 AM