LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Former Gov. Wallace Wilkinson, a self-made millionaire who helped create Kentucky's lottery and overhauled the state's public schools, died Friday. He was 60.
Wilkinson, a Democrat who was governor from 1987 to 1991, had been battling a recurrence of lymphatic cancer that was first diagnosed while in office. He died at St. Joseph Hospital, a day after suffering a stroke, said his attorney, Robert Brown.
"His courage and leadership, when faced with the inadequacies of funding for Kentucky schools, will be his legacy and has forever changed the future of Kentucky," Gov. Paul Patton said.
Wilkinson, whose business empire collapsed in bankruptcy last year, started a used-book store as a teenager that grew into a national company. At its peak, Wallace's Bookstores Inc. operated 91 stores on 60 college and seminary campuses.