Dr. Tom Coburn, former Republican Congressman and U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, passed this weekend at age 72. He retired early from his second term in the Senate in 2015, courageously battling cancer.

Dr. Coburn was a true citizen legislator. He ran for Congress, pledging to serve only three terms and then return to his practice of obstetrics and primary care. He was elected in a Democratic district and true to his word, served three terms. He was subsequently elected to the U.S. Senate, again pledging to represent Oklahoma for only two terms. He was in his second term when he retired for health reasons.

He had the reputation in Congress of “Dr. No.” He was not only a fiscal hawk, voting against virtually every pork-laden bill, but also consistently warned the country of the looming debt crisis. He authored a number of books, but in my mind two stand out. Breach of Trust gives an inside view of how Washington, D.C., turns outsiders into insiders. The Debt Bomb is actually a scary warning of what an out of control national debt can do to the U.S. economy.

Because of his background as a physician, Dr. Coburn had an intimate understanding of health care policy. He continually advocated for patient-control, rather than government-control, of our health care system. Several years ago, he was the key note speaker at Washington Policy Center’s Solutions Summit in Spokane. We at WPC had the opportunity to become friends with Dr. Coburn.

Even though suffering with stage 4 cancer, he was kind enough to not only endorse my new book, Health Care Simplified; Understanding a Complex Issue, but spent considerable time with me discussing ways to make the book more compelling for readers.

The country needs more leaders like him. Rest in peace, Dr. Tom Coburn.