Former Kansas Lt. Gov. Tom Docking Dies at 63

Former Kansas Lt. Gov. Tom Docking’s law firm says the Wichita attorney and son and grandson of governors has died. He was 63.

Docking died Thursday night after battling cancer. His death was confirmed by A.J. Schwartz, the CEO of Docking’s law firm. Other details were not immediately available.

Docking served as lieutenant governor from 1983 to 1987 during Democratic Gov. John Carlin’s second term.

He was a member of the state’s most prominent Democratic family.

His father, Robert Docking, was governor from 1967 to 1975, and his grandfather, George Docking, held the office from 1957 to 1961. Tom Docking was the Democratic nominee for governor in 1986 but lost to Republican Mike Hayden.

His wife, Jill, ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 1996 and lieutenant governor in 2014.