Colin Powell Passes Away at 84 from COVID-19

Colin Powell, a four-star general and the first Black U.S. Secretary of State, died Monday at the age of 84.

Powell’s family released a statement announcing that he had passed due to COVID-19 complications despite being fully vaccinated. At the time of his death, he was battling multiple myeloma — a blood cancer that seriously weakens the body’s ability to stave off infection — and Parkinson’s disease, and had previously survived prostate cancer.

His wife, Alma, had also contracted a breakthrough case of COVID-19, but responded to treatment.

"General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passed away this morning due to complications from Covid 19,” the Powell family said in a message posted to Facebook.

In their statement, the family thanked that “caring” medical staff at Walter Reed National Medical Center and remembered Powell as “a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American."

Born in Harlem, New York, to Jamaican immigrants, Powell joined the City College of New York's Army ROTC program and was commissioned as an Army second lieutenant when he graduated in 1958, just a decade after the U.S. armed forces were desegregated.

Throughout his 35 years of service in the Army, Powell received the Purple Heart, Defense Distinguished Service Medal, and the Legion of Merit, among other honors.

From 1987-1989, Powell served under President Ronald Reagan as National Security Advisor. From 1989-1993, Powell was the 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, under Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Years later, Powell became the first Black U.S. Secretary of State as part of President George W. Bush's Cabinet from 2001 to 2005.

Early Monday, George W. Bush and his wife Laura released a statement honoring Powell and his accomplishments.

“Laura and I are deeply saddened by the death of Colin Powell,” they wrote, adding, “Colin was a family man and a friend. Laura and I send Alma and their children our sincere condolences as they remember the life of a great man.”

Former President Barack Obama also paid his respects on social media, saying Powell “understood what was best in this country, and tried to bring his own life, career, and public statements in line with that ideal.”

In addition to Alma, Powell is survived by their three children, as well as by their grandchildren.