Former Louisiana Speaker of the House Jimmy Dimos has died

Former Louisiana Speaker of the House Jimmy Dimos of Monroe died Thursday. He was 84.

Dimos, who was also a retired judge, is a member of both the Louisiana Political Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Justice Hall of Fame. He served as the House speaker under former Gov. Buddy Roemer.

Dimos migrated to the United State from the Republic of Macedonia when he was 12, the family following the father, who had come to America to start a business and earned U.S. citizenship.

He had been a cross bearer as a boy in the Eastern Orthodox Church and continued to serve in that role after joining Grace Episcopal Church after his family moved to Monroe.

It set the stage, he said during a 2017 interview with USA Today Network, for a life of public service.

"I began joining service clubs at Neville (High School), the (University of Louisiana at Monroe) and Tulane (University) and always ran for office," Dimos said in 2017.

Dimos also once served as executive director of the Miss Louisiana Pageant.

As he earned elected office first in the House and later as a judge, Dimos also continued to be active in civic clubs and the Monroe and West Monroe chambers of commerce.

"I always felt like it was a duty," he said, "and I always enjoyed trying to help people in all of those roles."

Dimos and his wife Dale were married for nearly 60 years.

The funeral is scheduled at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Grace Episcopal Church in Monroe under direction of Mulhearn Funeral Home. Burial will follow at Riverview Cemetery in Monroe. Visitation is scheduled from 5-7 p.m. Monday at Mulhearn Funeral Home.

More: Gov. Buddy Roemer funeral: 'He was truly a statesman ahead of his time'

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1

This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: Former Louisiana Speaker of the House Jimmy Dimos has died