Former Missouri First Lady, US Senator Jean Carnahan dies at 90
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Former U.S. Senator and Missouri First Lady Jean Carnahan has died at the age of 90.
The family made the announcement Tuesday evening and said Carnahan died after a brief illness.
“Mom passed peacefully after a long and rich life. She was a fearless trailblazer. She was brilliant, creative, compassionate and dedicated to her family and her fellow Missourians,” her family said in a statement.
‘Miracle crash’ leads Chiefs-fan parents to safely deliver baby
The widow of Governor Mel Carnahan, Jean Carnahan was appointed to the U.S. Senate seat Mel won posthumously in 2000, becoming the first woman to represent Missouri in the Senate.
On October 16, 2000, Mel, their son Roger, and long-time aide Chris Sifford were killed in a plane crash while heading to a campaign event in southeast Missouri. Mel was elected to the Senate posthumously three weeks later. Acting Governor Roger Wilson appointed Jean Carnahan to fill the seat left vacant by her husband’s death. She served from January 3, 2001 until November 25, 2002.
According to her obituary, Jean Carnahan was born Dec. 20, 1933, in Washington, D.C., to Reginald and Alvina Carpenter, and grew up in the southeast D.C. working-class neighborhood of Anacostia. Her father was a plumber and her mother a hairdresser.
Biden decides on response to drone attack that killed three Americans
She met her future husband Mel while they were teen-agers attending a Sunday night youth group at a neighborhood Baptist church in Washington. They were married on June 12th, 1954.
A private family service will be held at Carson Hill Cemetery near Ellsinore, where Carnahan will be laid to rest next to her husband and son.
A public celebration of Carnahan’s life is being planned in St. Louis, with details to be announced at a later date.
