Local city councilman diagnosed with COVID-19 dies

KILLEEN, Texas (KWTX) – Killeen Dist. 3 City Councilman Jim Kilpatrick, 73, who was diagnosed with COVID-19 in late December, has died, the city announced Wednesday.

Kilpatrick, who was first elected to the council in 2015 and who served as mayor pro tem from 2017 to 2019, died on Tuesday.

Killeen Mayor Jose Segarra ordered the City of Killeen Flag lowered to half-staff in honor of Councilman Kilpatrick and his service.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Kilpatrick was admitted last month to AdventHealth Central Texas and was later moved from intensive care to the hospital’s Critical Care Unit.

His wife, Judy, died on Dec. 15 of heart failure.

The couple has five children, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Kilpatrick, an Arkansas native, was the son of a lumber mill worker.

He spent 20 years in the Army, including service in Vietnam, and retired as a major in January 1986 from Fort Hood.

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