Former Rep. Nita Lowey, who served the Hudson Valley for 32 years and became the first woman to ever chair the House Appropriations Committee, has died. She was 87.

Her family released a statement:

“With great sadness, we announce that former Congresswoman Nita M. Lowey died peacefully on March 15 at the age of 87, surrounded by her loving husband, children, and grandchildren, in her home in Harrison, NY. Nita has quietly and bravely battled metastatic breast cancer in recent years with the same tenacity and strength that she fought throughout her 32-year career in Congress for women, children and families in the U.S. and around the world.”

Lowey, first elected in 1989, served 16 terms in Congress and represented parts of Westchester, Rockland, The Bronx and Queens during her time in office. She became the first woman to lead the House Appropriations Committee as Ranking Member from 2013 to 2018 and, in 2019, became the first woman to chair the Committee.

“I’m deeply saddened by the passing of my friend,” Gov. Hochul said in a statement. “As a freshman member of Congress, Nita helped show me ropes as I was learning how to navigate Washington. She was a tireless fighter for the State of New York and never stopped working to deliver for the people of Westchester and Rockland.”

Sen. Charles Schumer called her the “heart of the Hudson Valley.”

“So many stand on her shoulders and her impact continues to resonate years after her retirement. Above all else though, Congresswoman Lowey was a kind hearted person, always putting others first and caring for their well-being,” he said.

Gov. Hochul says flag will be flown at half-staff through March 17.

In her decades in the House, Lowey pushed for federal funding to combat AIDS and for economic aid to developing nations.

She supported women’s health care and education initiatives and notably led a successful fight to provide contraception coverage to federal workers via their federal health insurance plans in the late 1990s under the Republican-controlled House.

“Frankly to have a job that I love so very much made this a very difficult choice,” Lowey, who became chair of the House Appropriations Committee in 2018, told The Associated Press of her decision to retire. “But I just felt it was time.”

Connecticut U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, now the ranking Democrat on the appropriations committee, remembered Lowey Sunday as a “fierce negotiator and loyal public servant” who was “courageous, humorous, and tenacious with a smile that lit up even the darkest rooms.”

She said Lowey was a tireless advocate on a range of important issues, from health care and the environment to after-school programs and public broadcasting.

Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican who now represents Lowey’s congressional district, praised her “bipartisan spirit, commitment to our community, and dedication to the country.”

Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins said Lowey “championed integrity, honesty and the values of good government” and said she had been a “mentor, a friend and always a beacon of hope.”

AP Wire Services were used in this report.