RICHMOND, Va. -- Former U.S. Congressman and Richmond Mayor Thomas Bliley, Jr. has died, according to Bliley’s Funeral Home Chief Operating Officer Daniel Woodfin.
Bliley, 91, passed away Thursday morning in his sleep, Woodfin shared.
"It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Thomas J. Bliley, Jr., a 3° generation President and leader of our family business," Woodfin and M. Carey Bliley, Bliley’s Funeral Home President & CEO, said in a joint statement. "Today, we mourn the loss of a remarkable individual who played a pivotal role in shaping our company and our community."
Bliley was elected to Richmond City Council in 1968 and served as Mayor of Richmond from 1970 through 1977.
The Republican lawmaker was first elected to Congress in 1980.
Known for his bow-tie and ability to work across the aisle with Democrats, Bliley often ran unopposed in the then safely Republican 7th District of Virginia which encompassed most of western Richmond and stretched north and west.
"Tom leaves behind a profound legacy, marked by his leadership at Bliley's and his public service, first serving in the United States Navy, then as Richmond's 69th Mayor and a Congressman in the United States House of Representatives for 20 years," the statement continued. "We are grateful for the leadership, dedication, and vision that Tom brought to Bliley's, to Richmond, and to the United States of America."
"For 20 consecutive years, he represented Virginia's Seventh District in the US House of Representatives," Bliley's professional bio read. "Beginning in 1994, Congressman Bliley served as chair of the House Committee on Commerce, the oldest committee in the House and the one with the broadest jurisdiction, for six years."
Bliley, whose family owned and operated Bliley Funeral Home, retired from politics in 2001.
A few years later, he helped change the face of the Richmond city government, when he and former governor Doug Wilder partnered to lead a movement to change the charter to allow for an election in which citizens would choose the mayor. Previously, Richmond City Council had appointed one of its own members to hold that office.
The effort made it onto the ballot and was approved by a landslide vote, paving the way for Wilder to become the city's first popularly elected mayor in more than half a century.
Bliley is survived by his wife Mary Virginia Bliley and his daughter Mary Vaughn Bliley Utter.
Funeral arrangements are not yet finalized.
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