Representative Jim Hagedorn (R., Minn.) died at the age of 59 on Friday morning, months after announcing he was again afflicted with kidney cancer.
“Jim loved our country and loved representing the people of southern Minnesota. Every moment of every day he lived his dream by serving others. There was no stronger conservative in our state than my husband; and it showed in how he voted, led and fought for our country,” Hagedorn’s wife, Jennifer Carnahan, wrote in a post on Facebook.
“While nothing can accurately prepare you for the unimaginable pain, intense sorrow, suffocating grief and seemingly never-ending emptiness that engulfs the entire body, soul and spirit when your forever love passes away; at least we can smile knowing Jim is smiling from heaven encouraging us to keep chasing our dreams, loving unconditionally and fighting for the country,” she added.
Hagedorn first announced he had been diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer in April 2019, months after being elected to represent Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District. In July 2021, he said the cancer had returned. Last month, he stayed at the Mayo Clinic after testing positive for Covid-19, according to CBS News.
Hagedorn had served in Congress since 2019, representing the same mostly rural district his father, Tom Hagedorn, represented in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The younger Hagedorn called representing his district “the greatest privilege of my life.”