WINSLOW, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — Former Mississippi State Sen. John Morgan’s death left the community of Oxford, Mississippi mourning the loss of a friend, family member and former politician.

Morgan died in a plane crash Wednesday afternoon near the southern part of Washington County.

“He probably would do anything for Oxford and the people of Oxford,” Joey Brent said.

Joey Brent found out that his friend of more than 20 years, John Morgan, or as he calls him “Johnny”, died Wednesday afternoon.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, Morgan was flying a twin-engine Beech King Air E-90 that left from the University-Oxford Airport in Mississippi.

“The initial call came from a caller and he says he heard what he believes is a plane sputter and then crash in this area,” Lt. Rick Jensen of Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

The FAA says the plane and Morgan were eventually found in rugged terrain in a rural part of Washington County.

It was a tragic situation Brent says because Johnny was a person you always wanted around you.

“Everywhere you would see him. He was always happy. He was always smiling, you know. He’d have a story to tell. He’d have a joke to tell,” Brent said.

Morgan served as a Mississippi state senator in the late 80s and early 90s. Brent says if you knew Morgan he was a man who loved Oxford, Mississippi, and everyone within it.

“He was just that kind of guy, you know, and always wearing his starched blue jeans and a starched collar shirt, I mean, he always looked good,” Brent said.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in a statement that “Morgan was perhaps the most fiercely loyal person I ever met.”