Texas Department of Criminal Justice Maintenance Supervisor Michael Harper, 56, died Tuesday due to COVID-19. He was assigned to the Skyview/Hodge complex in Rusk.

A Texas Department of Criminal Justice employee working at the Skyview/Hodge complex in Rusk died Tuesday due to COVID-19.

Maintenance Supervisor Michael Harper, 56, died Tuesday evening after he tested positive for the virus on Oct. 13. He was employed with the TDCJ for over 22 years and was assigned to the Skyview/Hodge complex.

He was hospitalized on Oct. 19 at a Tyler-area hospital after suffering respiratory complications, TDCJ said. On Nov. 3, he was placed on a ventilator and he passed away after a fight for over six weeks.

“Michael Harper was always the first to contribute to TDCJ in every way he could even volunteering for service above and beyond his normal duties,” TDCJ Executive Director Bryan Collier said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends and we hope they are blessed with the knowledge that he was a kind and caring man willing to help anyone day or night.”

Facilities Division Director Cody Ginsel called Harper a committed employee to the state of Texas and TDCJ.

“Michael Harper can rest easy knowing that he will always be remembered as a guiding light for all who were fortunate enough to know him,” Ginsel said.

A total of 24 employees and 63 inmates have died in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, according to TDCJ.