Governor Orders Flags To Half Staff For Mike Fitzpatrick

HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff to honor former U.S. Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick, who died Monday after a battle with cancer.

"Mike Fitzpatrick honorably served Bucks County as a commissioner and as a congressman, fighting to make our communities stronger and find compromise in a bipartisan way," said Wolf, a Democrat, of the Republican Fitzpatrick. "After receiving a cancer diagnosis in the prime of his life, he chose to not just courageously fight, but to share his story with the hope of giving strength to others. He will be greatly missed, and we offer our deepest condolences to his family and friends."

RELATED: Former Bucks Co. Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick Dies At 56

Under Wolf's order, U.S. and commonwealth flags at all state facilities, public buildings and ground will fly at half-staff. He invited other Pennsylvanians to participate in the tribute.

Wolf had previously ordered commonwealth flags to fly at half-staff Monday in honor of Rostraver West Newton Emergency Services Paramedic Matthew Smelser, who was struck and killed while working a crash on Interstate 70 in western Pennsylvania.

According to a statement from his family, Fitzpatrick, 56, died peacefully surrounded by family after a battle with melanoma.