Granger hailed as Texas trailblazer who fought for defense industry, Panther Island as mayor and Fort Worth congresswoman
Three words keep coming up when current and former elected leaders describe former Fort Worth Mayor and longtime Republican Congresswoman Kay Granger: trailblazer, tough, and tenacious.
Officials announced Sunday night that Granger died at the age of 83.
The current mayor of Fort Worth, Mattie Parker, told CBS News Texas Monday, "Kay was tough, but incredibly caring. She was really funny when you got to know her, that side of her. She was a fantastic artist, and she cared deeply about the work she did."
Former Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price agreed.
"Kay was a true public servant," Price said. "She was in politics for nearly four decades, but she never was there just for the politics. She was low-key. She went about getting the job done with a fierce determination if it helped her community. She was all about this community."
Trailblazing, tough and tenacious
Granger became the first woman to become mayor in Fort Worth in 1991.
She was the first Republican woman from Texas to serve in the U.S. House in 1997, and in 2023, she became the first Republican woman to serve as Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, one of the most powerful committees in the House.
Both Parker and Price said that Granger knew she was a trailblazer and took that as a responsibility that she had to work hard for the community.
"She would often remind you, her seriousness, her work ethic, is what got her there, not her gender," said Parker. "She always, always wanted to be taken seriously at the table. It's something I really learned about her. People who were in meetings with Kay, certainly for those who staffed her, knew she wanted to be the most prepared. She was often the person who didn't talk the most, but who, when she did speak, you listened."
Last year, Granger was awarded the 2025 Person of the Year by Fort Worth Inc. magazine.
Price and Parker also pointed to the fact that when the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC), was set to close the Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Granger went to work, fought for the site, and saved it.
The Department of Defense transformed it into the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base, which is still in operation.
As part of her work on Appropriations, she protected the defense industry in Fort Worth, including Lockheed Martin and Bell Textron. She fought to get federal funding for the Panther Island flood control project, which will soon lead to economic development and opportunities.
"When they did the BRAC realignment and closed, and she wasmayor, and she got after it and got the Joint Reserve Base here, that's a huge legacy," Price told CBS News Texas Monday. "Her contracts for Lockheed, she was able to get for this region. Her work on the Panther Island Project. Without her tenacity and true Texas form and grit, we wouldn't have a lot of the things we have now."
Parker said after securing the Joint Reserve Base, Granger didn't forget about it.
"She protected that base her entire tenure in Congress," said Parker. "She was fierce. DOD knew that at any moment, if they ever put that based on a map for BRAC again, they had to answer to Kay Granger."
Parker worked for then-Congresswoman Granger for 5 years while she was in Congress. Granger retired from Congress in 2024. She was first elected to the Fort Worth City Council in 1989. In all, she served in elected office for about 35 years.
Watch Eye On Politics at 7:30 Sunday morning on CBS News Texas on air and streaming
