photo by: Nick Krug/Journal-World

Congressman Dennis Moore listens during a public gathering at the Santa Fe depot in Lawrence in June 2009.

TOPEKA — Former Johnson County District Attorney and U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore died Tuesday after a battle with cancer while enduring the effects of Alzheimer’s disease.

Moore, 75, served the 3rd District in Congress from 1999 to 2008 as a Democrat. He was district attorney in Johnson County from 1977 to 1989.

Stephene Moore said her husband was “happy, gracious, dignified” and retained the “sense of humor for which he was known.”

“He stayed in touch with family and friends by phone calls and welcomed their visits,” she said. “We were fortunate to experience all of Dennis’ amazing, fun and big personality which will stay within our hearts and for which we are forever grateful.”

House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer, a Democrat from Wichita, said Moore’s work in local, state and national politics continued to resonate.

“As president of the Blue Dog Coalition in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Moore was at the forefront of change. I’m grateful for his tireless work in Kansas and in Washington,” Sawyer said.

Moore’s constituents in Congress were in Johnson, Wyandotte and Douglas counties, and he was the first Democrat to serve the 3rd District in nearly four decades.

During his political career, he defeated Republicans Vince Snowbarger, Phill Kline, Adam Taff, Kris Kobach, Chuck Ahner and Nick Jordan. He didn’t seek reelection in 2010, but Stephene Moore did run that year and was defeated by GOP nominee Kevin Yoder.

Yoder held the congressional seat until ousted by U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Democrat, in 2018.

Republican U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, who worked with Moore when both served in the U.S. House, said Moore “above all, was a kind man.”

“In our many years of working together I always had the utmost respect for him and the way he served the people of the 3rd District,” Moran said. “That respect only grew when I witnessed the way he and his wife, Stephene, faced his battle with Alzheimer’s with a determination to use their experience to help others.

“One area where we always agreed was the need to invest in finding a cure for Alzheimer’s, and in 2014, Dennis shared his experience with this devastating disease in front of my Senate subcommittee” Moran added. “His legacy will be the way in which he gave others battling Alzheimer’s courage and hope.”

• Tim Carpenter reports for Kansas Reflector.