Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie announces the death of his wife, Rhonda Massie

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Rhonda Massie, the spouse of U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, has died, the Kentucky congressman introduced Friday in a transferring social media tribute to his highschool sweetheart and the “love of my life.”

No particulars about the reason for loss of life or her age had been instantly offered by Massie or his workers.

“Yesterday my highschool sweetheart, the love of my life for over 35 years, the loving mom of our 4 kids, the neatest kindest lady I ever knew, my lovely and smart queen ceaselessly, Rhonda went to Heaven,” Massie wrote on the social platform X.

His social media posts featured pictures displaying the couple and their household. The congressman stated the couple frolicked with their grandson final week whereas touring Mount Rainier in Washington.

Massie wrote about his spouse’s educational achievements and devotion to her household.

“She was valedictorian at our highschool the place we went to the Promenade collectively, accepted at MIT and Harvard, earned a Mechanical Engineering diploma from MIT, and devoted her life to our household,” he wrote.

The MIT-educated Massie, a libertarian-leaning Republican first elected to Congress in 2012, simply defeated two GOP challengers in Kentucky’s Might major. With no Democratic opponent within the fall, Massie’s major victory cleared his strategy to declare one other time period in November. His district stretches throughout northern Kentucky.

His spouse’s loss of life introduced an outpouring of condolences from Kentucky and past.

U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., stated in a social media submit that he was “deeply saddened” to listen to of Rhonda Massie’s loss of life. Barr suffered an analogous tragedy 4 years in the past when his spouse, Eleanor Carol Leavell Barr, died. She was 39.

“Rhonda’s heat, kindness, and dedication to her household and neighborhood touched everybody who had the privilege of understanding her,” Barr wrote Friday.

Kentucky state Sen. John Schickel stated his “coronary heart breaks” for the congressman and the couple’s kids.

“Rhonda was a unbelievable human being, and her loving marriage with Congressman Massie was among the many most lovely you could possibly think about,” Schickel stated. “They had been highschool sweethearts and faculty classmates. It was a real love story.”

The Republican Celebration of Kentucky stated in an announcement that Rhonda Massie was “an incredible mom, spouse, and Kentuckian. She touched all who knew her and will likely be deeply missed.”