Former U.S. Rep. Herbert Leon “Sonny” Callahan, who represented south Alabama in Congress for 18 years, died early Friday morning. He was 88 years old.
Gov. Kay Ivey’s office announced Callahan's death on Friday. Ivey’s chief of staff, Jo Bonner, was an aide to Callahan and succeeded him after he retired.
“Without question, Sonny’s service to Alabama and to America was unrivaled,” Ivey said in a statement. “He was one of South Alabama’s most beloved public servants, and his legacy of helping others stands out as just one of his many wonderful qualities.”
Callahan, a native of Mobile, served in the Navy and attended the University of Alabama before going to work in his family’s trucking and warehouse business, becoming president of the firm after his uncle’s death in 1964. He first won election to the Alabama House of Representatives in 1970 as a Democrat, serving two terms in that chamber before winning a term in the Alabama Senate in 1978. He left the Senate in 1982 to mount a campaign for lieutenant governor, but he lost to Bill Baxley.