Jean Carnahan, the first woman to represent Missouri in the U.S. Senate, dies at age 90

Jean Carnahan, who in 2001 became the first woman to represent Missouri in the U.S. Senate after being appointed to fill her husband's seat following his posthumous election, died Tuesday. She was 90.

The Associated Press reported that her family released a statement saying Ms. Carnahan had died after a brief illness, but the cause of death was not specified.

“My mother passed away peacefully after a long and rich life,” the statement said. “She was a fearless pioneer. She was brilliant, creative, compassionate and devoted to her family and her fellow Missourians,” her family said in the statement.

Mrs. Carnahan, wife of Mel Carnahan, was appointed to the U.S. Senate from Missouri in December 2000, following the posthumous election of her husband, who died in a plane crash several weeks earlier. She was sworn in on January 3, 2001.

A full obituary will follow.