lit a candle 5 Sept 2026A woman who actually got things done instead of just talking about them. Fort Worth was lucky to have her.
Their story
Norvell Kay Mullendore was born on January 18, 1943, in Greenville, Texas. The family moved to Fort Worth, where her mother, Alliene Mullendore, built a career in Birdville public schools, later becoming the district's first female principal and a school-board member. Alliene Mullendore Elementary School carries her name. Kay often…
Norvell Kay Mullendore was born on January 18, 1943, in Greenville, Texas. The family moved to Fort Worth, where her mother, Alliene Mullendore, built a career in Birdville public schools, later becoming the district's first female principal and a school-board member. Alliene Mullendore Elementary School carries her name. Kay often called her mother the greatest influence in her life and said she wanted to leave the world better, as her mother had tried to do.
She graduated from Eastern Hills High School in 1961 and earned a B.A. from Texas Wesleyan University in 1965. She taught journalism and English at Richland High School in the Birdville district. She married John Granger III in 1964; they had three children, son J.D. and twins Brandon and Chelsea, before divorcing in 1978. As a single mother with a toddler and infant twins, she left the classroom for insurance work, eventually building Kay Granger Insurance with Northwestern Mutual roots while her mother, after a stroke, helped with the children. "I was a high school teacher with three children, a 2-year and 6-month-old twins, and my husband left," she later told The Hill. "It's the reason I talk so much to working mothers ... you just fight your way through the day." She also liked to say that "most people spend lives building careers; teachers spend their careers building lives."
Politics began at her own doorstep. When a liquid-waste plant was proposed near her home, she organized neighbors, prevailed at City Hall, and was appointed to the Fort Worth Zoning Commission (1981-1989). She won a City Council seat (1989-1991), then in 1991 became Fort Worth's first woman mayor, serving until December 1995. Crime was high and Carswell Air Force Base faced closure. Her Code: Blue and crime-district work helped cut crime sharply; she pursued economic development including AllianceTexas; and she helped transform Carswell into Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth rather than lose the installation.
Both parties recruited her when Rep. Pete Geren retired. She won Texas's 12th district as a Republican in 1996, becoming the first Republican woman elected to the House from Texas, and took office on January 3, 1997. On election night she said her goal was to "attack problems, not people." She spent 28 years in the House, rising on Appropriations (defense and State-Foreign Operations subcommittees; first woman on Defense Appropriations, later its chair; ranking member 2019-2023; full committee chair January 2023 to April 2024, the first Republican woman in that post). She backed F-35 production in Fort Worth, Monuments Men Congressional Gold Medal legislation, and major local flood-control and redevelopment tied to the Trinity River / Panther Island vision. She published What's Right About America (2006), served as House Republican Conference vice chair (2007-2009), and mentored future leaders including Ken Mehlman and later Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker.
Her record mixed fiscal conservatism with earlier social moderation. She was once backed by abortion-rights PACs, then in 2020 declared herself anti-abortion and signed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn Roe. Critics highlighted earmarks benefiting the Trinity River Vision Authority while her son J.D. led that body. In 2015 she said Donald Trump should not speak for the nation; by 2020 she endorsed him and received his endorsement.
She announced in October 2023 that she would not run in 2024, stepped down as Appropriations chair in April 2024, and cast her last recorded vote on July 24, 2024. In December 2024 reporting confirmed she had lived in a Fort Worth senior / independent living setting since July; son Brandon said she had "dementia issues," sparking debate about aging members and disclosure. Craig Goldman won the seat. Kay Granger died on August 2, 2026, in Fort Worth at 83, after an aggressive late battle with Alzheimer's, her family said. Visitation was held August 21 at Greenwood Cemetery; a memorial service followed on August 22 at First United Methodist Church, with a celebration of life at Joe T. Garcia's. House Speaker Mike Johnson, Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, Mayor Mattie Parker, and many others remembered a trailblazer who remade Fort Worth and rose as far as any appropriator can.
Biography adapted from English Wikipedia Kay Granger; Associated Press / Jamie Stengle 2026-08-02/03; Texas Tribune 2026-08-02; The Guardian 2026-08-03; CBS News Texas; Fort Worth Report family obituary 2026-08-04; Dallas M.
In their own words
“Most people spend lives building careers; teachers spend their careers building lives.”
Favorite saying recalled in the Fort Worth Report family obituary
“Attack problems, not people.”
Goal she stated on election night 1996 when first elected to Congress
“I don't know how you can sleep at night. You lost the battle.”
To FEMA Director Michael Brown during Katrina aftermath oversight
“I was a high school teacher with three children, a 2-year and 6-month-old twins, and my husband left. It's the reason I talk so much to working mothers. You just fight your way through the day.”
To The Hill, 2008 profile
“He definitely should not be considered to speak for our nation as our president.”
On Donald Trump's 2016 candidacy (2015), before she later endorsed him in 2020
Photos
3Kay Granger, official portrait, 116th Congress
by People Forever
Rep. Kay Granger, 118th Congress portrait
by People Forever
Kay Granger, 113th Congress
by People Forever
Absolutely. And she didn't back down.