Pat Brister has died...

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Pat Brister has died. The former St. Tammany Parish President lost a short battle with an illness she was diagnosed with shortly after losing her reelection bid last year. She was 73.

"It is with a heavy heart and deep sadness that the family of Patricia P. Brister announces her passing Monday, February 3, 2020," spokesman Ronnie Simpson said in a news release. "Pat Brister (73), was a loving mother, wife, sister, and grandmother, as well as a successful business owner, volunteer, diplomat, pioneering woman in State and National Republican politics, St. Tammany Parish Councilmember, and most recently the St. Tammany Parish President."

Simpson says Brister has four surviving children and nine grandchildren.

"Brister leaves behind: her daughter Jill Beck Heebe (Clark), sons Matt Beck, Mark Beck, and Ken Brister, as well as her beloved grandchildren Ryan, Ross, Leigh, Kay, Beck, Davis, Libby, William, and Henry. She is preceded in death by her loving husband Joe, after 40 years of marriage, and her late-son Steven Brister."

He described Brister as a role model, mentor, and trailblazer for women in Louisiana politics.

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