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.