Sen. Yvonne B. Miller, the longest-serving woman in the Virginia Senate, died Tuesday, according to Senate Clerk Susan Clarke Schaar.
Miller, who would have turned 78 on Wednesday, had battled stomach cancer in the past year and missed several weeks of the 2011 legislative session.
A Democrat, Miller served in the House of Delegates from 1984 to 1987 before being elected to the state Senate, which had until recently been dominated by white men. She was the first African American woman to serve in each of the two houses, and the first woman to lead a Senate committee.
“Yvonne was a history-maker and a trail blazer,’’ Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) said in a statement. “Yvonne made history when she was elected to the General Assembly. But she made the biggest difference in what she did once she got there.’’
A Democrat, Miller served in the House of Delegates from 1984 to 1987 before being elected to the state Senate, which had until recently been dominated by white men. She was the first African American woman to serve in each of the two houses, and the first woman to lead a Senate committee.
“Yvonne was a history-maker and a trail blazer,’’ Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) said in a statement. “Yvonne made history when she was elected to the General Assembly. But she made the biggest difference in what she did once she got there.’’
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Washington Post: Yvonne B. Miller, first African American woma in VA legislature dies at 77
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