Press Releases

Today, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) issued the following statement on the passing of former Governor Ruth Ann Minner. 

“My heart is heavy learning of the loss of my mentor and role model Governor Ruth Ann Minner. Ruth Ann’s humble beginnings, leaving school at 16 to help support her family, would form the foundation of what it meant to her to be a public servant. Humble, hardworking, and tenacious - Governor Minner never forgot the true mission and purpose of those with the privilege of representing their fellow citizens - to help others.

“I was humbled to work alongside Ruth Ann when she was Lieutenant Governor and honored to serve in her cabinet when she made history, becoming the first woman to lead the First State as Governor. But for Governor Minner, it was never about making history by simply being elected to office; it was about making history while in office.

“The Minner Administration threw open the doors of opportunity to thousands of Delaware’s children by establishing the SEED scholarship, made our state more accepting by fighting discrimination, and helped make Delaware healthier by working tirelessly to reduce cancer rates in the state.

“Governor Minner lived by a simple code that she so often articulated, ‘For Ruth Ann Minner, farmer, gardener and daughter of a sharecropper, it is simply this: Work hard. Do the right thing. And leave things better than you found them.’ Ruth Ann Minner worked hard, did the right things, and left things better than she found them. I, and our entire state, are grateful for her life of service.”