Jim Ramstad: “the people of Minnesota are in mourning because we have had a death in the family. Minnesota State Representative…”

“the people of Minnesota are in mourning because we have had a death in the family. Minnesota State Representative Darlene Luther, wife of our good friend and colleague Bill Luther, passed away last week after a courageous battle with cancer. Today in St. Paul, Minnesota, Darlene's family and hundreds of her friends and constituents attended her funeral mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul. From Governor and Mrs. Ventura, to members of Minnesota's congressional delegation, the Minnesota legislature, and supreme court; from Darlene's constituents in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, to Darlene and Bill's legions of friends across Minnesota, we said farewell to a loving and committed wife, a caring and loyal friend, and a compassionate and dedicated public servant. Just as we mourned a great loss, we also celebrated a life of love and a life of service, a life of passionate advocacy and genuine empathy for people, especially people in need. Mr. Speaker, Darlene Luther was truly a loving daughter and sister to the Dunphy family; a loving wife and mother to Bill, Alicia and Alex; and friend to us all. She will be sorely missed by all of us who knew and loved her, by all of us whose lives she touched. Most of all, Darlene loved her husband, Bill, and their children, Alicia and Alex, as deeply and as dearly as any wife and mother ever could. She was so proud of them, as she told me countless times.”