Jean Rounds, the wife of Sen. Mike Rounds, died at the age of 65 Tuesday morning after a two-year battle with sarcoma cancer.
The South Dakota Republican announced the news in a press release.
“The love of my life is with the Lord. No more treatments. No more pain. Just peace,” Rounds said. “South Dakota knew her as first lady. We knew her as wife, daughter, mom, and grandma. She was everything to us. The prayers and support we received throughout this battle were powerful and made a difference. We ask for your continued prayer as we remember her life and grieve together as a family.”
Jean Rounds was diagnosed with a malignant, high-grade, aggressive tumor near her sciatic nerve, a sarcoma, in May 2019. She underwent six rounds of chemo, surgery to remove the remaining portion of her tumor, and radiation treatment, which was completed in February.
The senator announced in September 2020 that after a visit to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, a malignancy was found in the same spot that his wife’s sarcoma was located, and she was to undergo a surgical procedure, known as an ablation, to remove the malignancy.
Mike Rounds served as the governor of South Dakota from 2003 to 2011 and was elected to the Senate in 2014. He won reelection in 2020.
As first lady of South Dakota, Jean Rounds designed the new governor’s mansion, which was completed in 2005, and advocated for childhood literacy and helped raise awareness for health issues relating to women’s hearts, according to the Associated Press.
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She said in a statement last year her husband had been with her “every step of the way” and noted, “He never complained and he sat with me in that hospital room at Mayo Clinic for days on end.”
Jean Rounds is survived by her husband, their four children, and 10 grandchildren.
