AUSTIN, Texas — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick paid tribute to Chuck Norris, the martial arts champion and action star who died at age 86.
Norris was hospitalized in Hawaii, and his family announced his death Friday, saying he was surrounded by family and was at peace.
Abbott, in a post on X, called Norris a defining figure for the state and the conservative movement.
“Texas has lost a legend,” Abbott wrote. “He was not only a martial arts champion, action icon, and the one and only Walker, Texas Ranger, but he electrified generations of conservatives, giving them a passion and voice to fight for the principles that make America the greatest nation on earth.”
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Abbott added that Norris “embodied the toughness, grit, and patriotism that makes Texas supreme.”
Patrick described Norris as a friend. He recalled Norris endorsing his 2007 run for the Texas Senate and a 2017 birthday lunch at the Capitol where Norris and his wife, Gena, sang happy birthday to him.
“It is with great personal sadness that I’ve learned my friend and American icon Chuck Norris has passed away,” Patrick wrote. “I don’t cry often, but today is an exception.”
Patrick credited Norris with founding the Kickstart Kids program, which brought martial arts instruction to Texas schoolchildren, and described him as “one of the finest people [he has] ever met.”
His family said in a statement that to the world he was a martial artist, actor, and symbol of strength, while to them he was a devoted husband, loving father and grandfather, and the heart of their family.