The sudden death of Congressman Sylvester Turner shocked Washington D.C. and Capitol Hill this week. The lawmaker died at age 70.
According to KHOU, longtime anchor for the network Les Cannon expressed his shock and disbelief regarding the congressman's sudden death, as he had just communicated with him via text just hours before he died. The two had reportedly spoken about obituaries.
Rep. Turner was a former mayor of the city of Houston, Texas, and Cannon was one of his friends in the media business.
It was reported that Turner passed away early on Wednesday morning in Washington D.C., sending shockwaves through the nation's capitol.
Turner had battled health problems, including bone cancer, as KHOU noted:
Turner, 70, passed away early Wednesday morning in Washington, D.C., following “enduring health complications.” The former Houston mayor had battled osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, undergoing surgery, radiation, and reconstruction in recent years.
Cannon recalled his final text exchange with Turner, which was literally hours before his untimely death.
"I texted Sylvester Turner last night at 8:27 p.m., knowing he was at the president’s address to Congress,” Cannon said during KHOU 11’s coverage that morning. "He quickly responded within 10 minutes — he was there, working, engaged. It’s shocking to think that just hours later, he was gone."
He added, "We were talking about someone else’s declining health,” Cannon said. “And Turner reassured me, ‘I’m fine. I’m all good. The doctors cleared me.’ It’s just astounding to find out today that he’s gone.”
Cannon recalled that despite Turner's health problems, it never slowed him down and he never showed any signs of losing a step.
Even after his treatment for the dangerous cancer, Turner only missed a minimal amount of work while he was the mayor of Houston, reportedly bouncing back quickly.
"He had lost weight — he never regained it — but every time I asked him about his health, even last summer, he told me, ‘My doctors give me the green light, I’m fine, I have the energy to run,’” Cannon said
Cannon added, "He prided himself on being present,” Cannon said. “We may never know how he was really feeling because he always put up a brave front."
The KHOU anchor said that their relationship went beyond just that of a professional one.
"It doesn’t always happen in journalism, but sometimes you develop a relationship of trust with public figures," Cannon said. "Sylvester was one of those people for me."
