WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressional leaders and staff held a moment of silence in honor of former Utah Rep. Mia Love in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, Love died Sunday at the age of 49 from cancer.
Love, who battled glioblastoma brain cancer, was the first Black Republican woman elected to Congress, representing the state's 4th District from 2015 to 2019. Earlier this month, Love's family announced that the cancer was no longer responding to treatment, and that they had "shifted our focus from treatment to enjoying our remaining time with her."
Current Utah Rep. Burgess Owens, who represents the district once served by Love, remembered her by saying, "She was a fierce advocate, a tireless servant, and a bright light."
Owens added that Love's "legacy is one of faith, courage, love, and the highlight of her life, her husband Jason and her family, all fitting for a woman whose name said it all. While we grieve her loss and also we also celebrate a life well-lived a mission well-served, and a friend deeply missed."
On the floor of the House, Rep. Jerry Nadler, who represents New York's 12th congressional district, also spoke on Love's legacy.
"She believed in the power of government to do good," he said. "And her legacy will endure through the lives she touched and the barriers she broke."
The public is invited to the Utah State Capitol to pay their respects to Love as she will lie in state on Sunday, April 6, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. A public memorial service will be held the next day at the Institute of Religion on the University of Utah campus.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to either the Robert Preston Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University or the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
