from the Senate of Virginia |
By BOB LEWIS .c The Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - State Sen. Emily Couric, a rising star in Virginia's Democratic Party, died Thursday of pancreatic cancer. The sister of NBC's ``Today'' show co-host Katie Couric was 54.
Couric died at her home in Charlottesville, where she had lived for almost 20 years.
Couric dropped out of the race for the nomination for lieutenant governor after being diagnosed with cancer in July 2000. She stayed in the Senate and took on the co-chairmanship of the state party even as she began an aggressive regimen of treatment.
``Clearly my health is my first priority,'' Couric said early this year. ``Pancreatic cancer is not, as my sister says, the cancer of choice. It's a tough one.''
During six years in the Senate, Couric fought to make Virginia the first state to require insurance companies to pay for colon cancer screening, a law that passed last year. The issue hit close to home: Katie Couric's husband, Jay Monahan, died of colon cancer in 1998.
``She was a principled legislator who fought for what she believed. Emily took that same determination in her fight against cancer and was an inspiration to many Virginians,'' said Republican Gov. Jim Gilmore.
Couric was a moderate on many issues and often found common ground with the Republican majority in the Senate. She was also one of its most popular members, effectively plying a keen intellect and the same broad grin as her well-known sister.
``Her tireless work on behalf of her constituents will be her lasting legacy, and her grace and courage in the face of a devastating illness were unparalleled,'' NBC and the ``Today'' show said in a statement.
Couric had tried to revive a state Democratic party that had been driven completely out of power over the last eight years. Her best hope was Mark Warner, a businessman leading this year's race for governor.
``She had a fighting spirit that was always indefatigable,'' Warner said.
Born in Atlanta, Couric was the eldest of four children. She graduated from Smith College and worked as a journalist, writing for the Legal Times in Washington. She also wrote nonfiction books about the legal profession.
After serving on the Charlottesville School Board, she defeated a GOP state senator in 1995 and was re-elected in 1999.
She is survived by her husband, George A. Beller, two sons, her parents, and three siblings.
A memorial service will held Monday in Charlotteville. Burial will be private.
AP-NY-10-18-01 1527EDT
