John Dingell, the venerable Michigan Democrat who was the longest-serving U.S. House member in the nation’s history, died Thursday evening, one day after it was announced he had entered hospice care. He was 92.
Sources close to the Michigan Democratic Party said Dingell had been diagnosed with prostate cancer but declined treatment once it metastasized, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Dingell, who was first elected in 1955 to replace his late father, retired from Congress in early 2015 after becoming disenchanted with divisiveness and partisanship on the Hill.
His wife, Debbie Dingell, who replaced him in Congress, posted a message on social media Wednesday thanking friends and loved ones for support.
“Friends and colleagues know me and know I would be in Washington right now unless something was up,” Dingell wrote. “I am home with John and we have entered a new phase. He is my love and we have been a team for nearly 40 years.
“I will be taking each day as it comes,” she wrote. “We thank people for their friendship and support and ask for prayers and privacy during this difficult time.”
