Elizabeth Warren’s Brother Dies From Coronavirus

Donald Reed Herring, the oldest brother of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., died Tuesday night in Norman, Oklahoma after testing positive for the coronavirus three weeks ago. Herring, a Vietnam War veteran, earned multiple decorations before his retirement in 1973 as a lieutenant colonel.
Sen. Warren spoke often of “Don” on the campaign trail, as well as her two other brothers John and David Herring, highlighting their military service and the fact that Don and David were Republicans who agreed with her on certain issues. Warren spoke glowingly of her brother in a series of tweets posted on Thursday after the public learned of his death.

Born in 1933, Herring attended the University of Oklahoma, yet did not graduate, as he enlisted in the Air Force where he flew B-47 and B-52 bombers. Herring flew 288 combat missions in the Vietnam War, becoming a B-52 squadron pilot and a squadron aircraft commander. After leaving the Air Force he started his own auto-dealing business.

Herring lived with his wife, Judith Anne Heart, in Newcastle, Oklahoma. According to the family, he was diagnosed with cancer years ago and had undergone treatment, and he had also been hospitalized for pneumonia in February, being moved to a rehabilitation center to recover shortly afterward.

Studies have shown that the coronavirus more fatally impacts those with preexisting conditions, as well as those residing at inpatient facilities like the one Herring was staying at. The family was told that other patients at the facility had active cases of COVID-19, and Herring was tested for the virus in early April. Despite not showing symptoms for another 11 days, he tested positive and was moved to intensive care at Norman Regional Hospital on April 15. He died six days later.

Herring is survived by two sons, John and Jeffrey. In Sen. Warren’s autobiography, she wrote of her brother, “My first memory of Don Reed was when he left for the service and then of his wedding. He was adventurous and dashing, and his very existence was like a distant light.”