Ron de Lugo, the Longest Serving V.I. Delegate to Congress, Died Today. He Was 89.
- Staff Consortium
- July 14, 2020
Ron de Lugo, historically the longest-serving Delegate to Congress from the Virgin Islands, has died today at the age of 89. His wife, Sheila Paiewonsky de Lugo, said that he passed away on July 14, 2020 in Florida, after several years of failing health. De Lugo, whose political career spanned four decades, played a key role in bringing about sweeping changes that in the middle of the 20th Century accelerated the political advancement and economic development of the U.S. Virgin Islands, and also of America’s Pacific territories. De Lugo’s family first settled in Puerto Rico in the 1500s and moved to St. Thomas in 1879. Ron was born on August 2, 1930. He grew up on St. Thomas and attended Sts. Peter and Paul School before transferring to the Colegio San Jose in San Juan, PR. After a two-year stint in the U.S. Army, serving with Armed Forces Radio, De Lugo returned to St. Thomas in 1950 and became a very popular radio personality at WSTA, which was just being established as ...
