State Senator Dies After Battle with Cancer

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By Lisa Kunkel

Story Created: Oct 15, 2012 at 5:49 PM CDT

Story Updated: Oct 15, 2012 at 5:51 PM CDT

CLIVE, IOWA - Iowa State Senator Pat Ward died Monday morning after a battle with cancer.

Ward, a Republican, represented District 22. She served in the State Senate since 2004, when she won a special election.

Ward served on several committees in the Iowa Senate - the Commerce committee; the Environment and Energy Independence; the Judiciary committee, the Ways and Means committee, the Government Oversight committee, and the Labor and Business Relations committee.

Eight years of representing the western suburbs took Ward to thousands of doorsteps.

But on Monday, her friends recalled what voters didn't see.

“Pat was not only a colleague, but she was a good friend,” said Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds.

“Pat was an absolutely tenacious person about what she cared about. And she cared about economic development and she cared about education,” said Mary Kramer.

Ward replaced Kramer as a State Senator when Kramer became a U.S Ambassador.

“She just moved right in there and was extremely competent from the start,” said Kramer.

“She sat behind me in the Senate, so it was not unusual for me to wheel my chair around and run things by her,” said Reynolds.