Former Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco dies at 76

Former Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who will be foreverlinked to Hurricane Katrina, died Sunday after a long battle with cancer. She was 76.Blanco, a University of Louisiana at Lafayette graduate, taught school after college before taking on the job as a full-time, stay-at-home mother for she and husband “Coach” Raymond Blanco’s six children.

She and Coach were married 54 years. Blanco recently said Coach was her biggest cheerleader.

"We've had a lot of fun together," she told USA Today Network earlier this year.

She entered politics in 1983 and was elected to the state House of Representatives, the first woman from Lafayette to serve in the Legislature.She announced in 2017 she suffered from ocular melanoma. The cancer was first diagnosed in 2011 and reappeared in October 2017 during a routine checkup in Memphis.Blanco accepted her fate and delivered what seemed to be a farewell speech in December 2018 when she was honored by the Council for a Better Louisiana.

"There is no escape,” said Blanco, who entered hospice in April. “The monster is not far down the road." RIP Mrs Blanco