Longtime Norfolk Sen. Yvonne Miller died Tuesday after a lengthy fight with cancer, according to the Senate clerk’s office. She was 77 years old — a day shy of turning 78.
Miller’s political career began in 1984 when, as a Democrat, she became the first black woman elected to the Virginia House of Delegates. Four years later, she earned the same distinction in the state Senate, where she went on to serve for the next 24 years.
Miller went on to earn distinction as the first woman to chair a Senate Committee and, eventually, the longest-serving female senator in state history.
“Yvonne was a history-maker and a trail blazer,” Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said. “Yvonne Miller cared deeply about people, and she was a strong voice always ready to passionately advocate for the disadvantaged, the forgotten and the overlooked.”
Born on July 4, 1934, in Edenton, N.C., Miller attended the all-black division of what is now Norfolk State University. She later earned her masters in teaching from Columbia University and her doctorate from University of Pittsburgh. She went on to teach at Norfolk State University, where she headed the Department of Early Childhood/Elementary Education until 1999.
Miller served on the powerful Senate Finance Committee, a credit to her longevity and her status within the Senate. She also served on committees dealing with commerce and labor, transportation, and rehabilitation and social services.
“Today, Virginia has lost a giant and we all have lost a friend,” Sen. Dave Marsden, D-Burke, said in a tweet.
