COLUMBIA (WACH, AP) -- State Rep. Cathy Harvin who won a special election in 2006 to her late husband's Statehouse seat died at the age of 56 over the weekend.
Stephens Funeral Home in Manning said Harvin died Saturday at the Medical University of South Carolina. According to Harvin's obituary, she died of complications from breast cancer.
Harvin was a Democrat from Summerton and was one of only a handful of women in the South Carolina Legislature. She was a sales manager for Dell Computer and won the seat that her husband, Alex Harvin, held for almost 30 years before he died in 2005.
Harvin was the first white female to join the ranks of the House Black Caucus.
"Representative Harvin has been an outstanding public servant, and the people of Clarendon and Williamsburg Counties were fortunate to have her as their Representative," states South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Carol Fowler. "When her husband died and she was elected to take his place in the House, Democrats in the General Assembly and across the state learned quickly that they could count on her stalwart allegiance to the best ideals of our party."
Gov.-elect Nikki Haley who served in the House with both Harvins said Cathy Harvin was a committed public servant who carried on her husband's love of South Carolina.
Funeral arrangements are set for Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Summerton Cultural Arts Center.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forWACH