McEachin’s death was sudden, but his illness was not. He was suffering from the effects of successfully treating colon cancer eight years ago. “We are all devastated by the passing of our boss and friend, Congressman Donald McEtson,” Tara Rudry, the Democratic congressman’s chief of staff, said in a statement Monday night. “Bravely, for years, we have watched him fight and triumph over the aftereffects of colon cancer since 2013,” Rudry said. “Tonight, he lost that battle and the people of Virginia’s Fourth Congressional District lost a hero who always, always fought for them and put them first.”

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McEachin, who was elected twice to the House of Representatives and served nine years in the Senate, had just defeated Republican Leon Benjamin on Nov. 8 for a second term. His fourth term was scheduled to begin in January. U.S. Rep. A. Donald McEachin, D-4th, during an interview with reporters and editors at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, in Richmond, June 14, 2019. BOB BROWN “Until a new representative is elected, our office will remain open and continue to serve our constituents,” Rudry said. His wife, Colette, is a Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney. McEachin, a lawyer who lived in South Richmond, is also survived by three daughters. “The family is asking for privacy at this time,” Rudry said. “Arrangements will be announced in the coming days.” McEachin, who was 6ft 5in tall, revealed in 2018 that he had developed a fistula – an abnormal connection between the bladder and colon – as a result of cancer surgery. He lost 60 pounds and underwent a series of surgeries to correct the condition, which he saw as temporary and not an obstacle to his work in the House of Representatives. McEachin was first elected to Congress in 2016 after a court ordered the redistricting of the 4th District as part of his response to alleged racial harassment of the 3rd District by General Assembly Republicans. The 4th District now includes all or part of 15 cities and counties, stretching from Richmond to Brunswick, Greensville and Southampton counties. He gets about three-quarters of his votes from Richmond and from east Henrico and east Chesterfield. A. Donald McEachin taken 09/11/1991 by Bob Brown BOB BROWN Rep. Bobby Scott, D-3rd, hailed McEachin’s legacy as a “pioneer in Virginia politics” as the first African-American to run as a major-party candidate for attorney general in 2001, ultimately losing to Republican Jerry Kilgore and third to be elected to Congress by the state. (John Mercer Langston, elected in 1888 to represent the 4th District, was Virginia’s first African American in Congress. Scott became the second 105 years later.) “Donald was a thoughtful and principled legislator and respected by people on both sides of the aisle,” Scott said. Before serving in Congress, McEachin had a long career as a personal injury attorney and co-owner of McEachin & Gee law firm in Henrico County, but he also has a master of divinity degree from Virginia Union University. He did not lead a church, but he helped at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Beaverdam. “There is ministry in the church and there is ministry outside the church,” he said in 2018.

US Representative A. Donald McEachin

• Aston Donald McEachin was born on October 10, 1961 in Nuremberg, Germany. His father was an army veteran and his mother a teacher. • Graduated from St. Christopher’s School in Richmond in 1979. He would also graduate from American University with a degree in political science and from the University of Virginia School of Law. He also received a Master of Divinity from The Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University. • Founded the law firm McEachin and Gee in 1990. • Served in the Virginia House of Representatives from 1996 to 2002 and from 2006 to 2008 and in the state Senate from 2008 to 2016. • Elected to the US House on November 8, 2016. • With his wife and Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin, he raised three children. McEachin’s priorities in Congress included protecting the Affordable Care Act and women’s reproductive rights, fighting climate change and promoting environmental justice, and preserving black cemeteries. He introduced the African American Burial Grounds Preservation Act, a measure that would have provided $3 million annually for the preservation and restoration of black cemeteries. McEachin had personal pleasure in leading a successful effort to rename Fort Lee by Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg, the Army’s highest-ranking minority general when he retired in 1981, and Lt. Col. Charity Adams. Greg was a lifelong friend of the congressman’s father, a US Army veteran. “It’s a great day in Virginia,” the congressman exclaimed after a congressional naming committee announced its choices in May to replace the former Confederate general’s name at the sprawling base outside Petersburg in his district. 2001 Democratic ticket (standing, left to right) A. Donald McEachin, Mark Warner and Tim Kaine make their first joint appearance at the South Richmond Senior Center on Hull Street. Juliette Hall (left, in red) and Mary Miller listen. LINDY KEAST RODMAN On Twitter Monday night, Gov. Glenn Youngkin wrote: “So sad to learn of the passing of @Rep. McEachin. A brave fighter to the end,…