Ronald Ray Cyrus (July 10, 1935 – February 28, 2006) was an American politician and public servant in

Greenup County, Kentucky Greenup County is a county located along the Ohio River in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,962. The county was founded in 1803 and named in honor of Christopher Greenup. Its cou ...

. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he was elected to Kentucky House of Representatives for 11 consecutive terms, from 1975 until he retired in 1996."Ron Cyrus, former State Senator Dies", ''Lexington Herald-Leader'', Lexington, Kentucky, pg. 14, 2 March 2006 He was the father of

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

singer and actor

Billy Ray Cyrus Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, and is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and ...

and the paternal grandfather of Miley,

Noah Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...

and

Brandi Cyrus Brandi Cyrus is an American actress and DJ. She used to co-host '' Cyrus vs. Cyrus: Design and Conquer'' on Bravo and is a co-host of the ''Your Favorite Thing'' podcast. Personal life Her mother is Leticia "Tish" Cyrus, and her father is c ...

Early life

Cyrus was born in

Flatwoods, Kentucky Flatwoods is a home rule-class city in Greenup County, Kentucky, United States. Flatwoods is considered a suburb of nearby Ashland, although Ashland itself is located in neighboring Boyd County. The population of Flatwoods was 7,423 at the 20 ...

, to Verlina Adeline Hay (1894–1980) and Eldon Lindsey Cyrus (1895–1975). He was a 1959 graduate of Russell High School, a graduate of

Ashland Community and Technical College Ashland Community and Technical College (ACTC) is a public community college in Ashland, Kentucky. It is an open-admissions college and part of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. It was founded in 1938 to allow students the o ...

, and attended the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

Politics

A member of the

, he was elected a member of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form ...

for

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

's 98th Legislative District, which encompasses Greenup County, in 1975, and began his career in the General Assembly in 1976. He was elected to 11 consecutive terms — serving a total of 21 years — until he retired from office in 1996. Cyrus served as executive secretary and treasurer of the Kentucky AFL-CIO from 1984 to 1986 and was employed as a rigger with

Armco Steel AK Steel Holdings Corporation was a steelmaking company headquartered in West Chester Township, Butler County, Ohio. The company, whose name was derived from the initials of Armco, its predecessor company, and Kawasaki Steel Corporation, was a ...

Ashland Works. He was a

Kentucky Colonel Kentucky Colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and is the most well-known of a number of honorary colonelcies conferred by United States governors. A Kentucky Colonel Commission (the certificate) i ...

, served as a regional representative with

Alan Greenspan Alan Greenspan (born March 6, 1926) is an American economist who served as the 13th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006. He works as a private adviser and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC. ...

of the

Federal Reserve Board The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, commonly known as the Federal Reserve Board, is the main governing body of the Federal Reserve System. It is charged with overseeing the Federal Reserve Banks and with helping implement the mon ...

, member of The Crownsmen Quartet,

Little League Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

in Japan. He served as founding Chairman of the Board of the Billy Ray Cyrus Charities Foundation and was a devoted member of Big Woods Community Church in

Wellington, Kentucky Wellington is a home rule-class city in metro Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States. It is considered to be part of the Upper Highlands section of Louisville. It was incorporated in 1946. The population was 565 at the 2010 cens ...

Death and tributes

Cyrus was 70 years old when he died on February 28, 2006, of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

at a Lexington hospital. He was buried in

Louisa, Kentucky Louisa is a home rule-class city located at the merger of the Levisa and Tug Forks into the Big Sandy River. It is located in Lawrence County, Kentucky, in the United States, and is the seat of its county. The population was 2,467 at the 2010 ...

, with his funeral on March 5, at Big Woods Community Church in Wellington, Kentucky. A visitation was held on March 4 at the student union at his alma mater, Russel High School. As a tribute in his honor, the Kentucky House of Representatives observed a moment of silence on March 1, 2006."Former State Rep Ron Cyrus Dies", ''Courier-Journal'', Louisville, Kentucky, pg. B-5, 2 March 2006 The song " I Miss You" by Cyrus' granddaughter

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

was written for him and was featured on her 2007 album '' Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus''. The song "Hey Daddy" by Cyrus' son

is also dedicated to him, on the album ''

Wanna Be Your Joe ''Wanna Be Your Joe'' is the ninth studio album released from country music artist Billy Ray Cyrus. Released on July 17, 2006 on New Door Records and UMe, it was Cyrus' first country album since 2000's ''Southern Rain''. It is also his first albu ...

''. Billy Ray sang this song to Cyrus, the night before his death. In honor of Cyrus, his granddaughter, Miley chose to act as "Ronnie" for her character in the 2010 film '' The Last Song''. She also changed her middle name from "Hope" to "Ray" in Cyrus' honor. A chapter of her autobiography '' Miles to Go'' is also dedicated to Cyrus.

References

External links

Ron Cyrus Cancer Research Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cyrus, Ron 1935 births 2006 deaths AFL–CIO people Deaths from lung cancer in Kentucky Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives People from Flatwoods, Kentucky

Ron Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

20th-century American politicians