SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Utahns will come together on Monday to pay their respects to America’s first black Republican congresswoman, former Rep Mia Love.
In 2023, Love announced that she had been diagnosed with glioblastoma, a common yet aggressive form of brain cancer. After two years of seeking treatment, clinical trials, and immunotherapy, Love passed away on March 23, 2025. In an announcement on X, Love’s family described her passing, saying “Mia quietly slipped the bands of mortality and, as her words and vision always did, soared heavenward.”
Love served as representative for Utah’s 4th Congressional District (2015-2019), mayor of Saratoga Springs (2010-2014), and city council member, among other roles.
A public memorial service is scheduled to be held on Monday, April 7, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Institute of Religion Building on the University of Utah’s campus. The service will begin at 10 a.m. and will be live-streamed here on ABC4.com.
Mia Love’s Legacy: From those who knew her
To her family, she was a caring and dedicated mother, wife, and public servant who loved to “dance, paint, run, laugh, eat great food, hang with friends, [and] learn and serve others.” It is this spirit that seems to be shared among many who were close with Love and worked with her during her life of public service.
“Mia was a great friend. She was humble and kind to everyone,” Tawnee McCay, current Riverton city council member and former treasurer for Love’s campaign, told ABC4.com. “She would always come to work with her favorite drink that had raspberries and blueberries in it … She is the one who inspired me to be more politically active and run for [Riverton] city council.”
“I am grateful for the time I had with Mia,” Sen. John Curtis began. “For the work we did together, and for the example she has set for so many.”
Born to Haitian immigrants, Love was born in Brooklyn and was one of three children. She moved to Connecticut with her family and attended the University of Harford, where she received a degree in musical theatre. She would later move to Utah where she married Jason Love, who she had met originally while he was serving his mission in Connecticut.
“It’s been a week since my Sweetheart’s passing and I miss her beyond words. I feel Mia’s love for our children and her desire to leave them a stronger American when I watch this performance,” Jason Love said on Facebook in reference to a performance of “Dear Theodosia” Mia Love did with now Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson.
“As I have sat with my dear friend during this great trial of hers, I’ve thought a lot about friendship, and the necessity of having and being a good friend,” Henderson said in a post on social media. “Cicero was right: A life without friendship is no life at all.”
The friendship and loss expressed by Henderson wasn’t just felt within the state, but across the country, with expressions of sorrow coming from former colleagues and public officials from every corner of the nation.
“I mourn the passing of Mia Love, a friend and former House colleague. Mia’s contributions to our Nation and her trailblazing role in Congress are significant. Many were blessed and inspired by her life and faith in the American Dream,” Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania said on Facebook. “Godspeed, Mia. You made a real mark, my friend. See you on the High Ground.”
Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina posted a similar sentiment, saying, “I am saddened to hear of the passing of my friend, trailblazer, and former Congresswoman, Mia Love. Mia’s legacy is one of faithful service and dedication to our nation and those she loved.”
Even former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan spoke to his relationship with Love, calling her a “one of a kind.”
“Mia Love’s journey, growing up as the child of Haitian immigrants to serving in Congress, was one of a kind. [Mia] was committed to bettering the world around her & blazed an amazing trail for others to follow. Mia was a great friend & colleague. She will truly be missed,” Ryan said.
In a heartfelt speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Mike Lee recounted how that even in Washington, Love always had a smile on her face — no matter how hard things got in the political arena.
“One of my favorite characteristics of Mia Love–one that surfaced in my every interaction with her — was her defiant positivity. No matter how hard things were in Washington at any given time, every single time I saw Mia, she had a smile on her face, and she had words of encouragement for me and for everyone around her,” Lee said during his speech on the floor. “That is the kind of leader we all benefit from knowing, and the kind of friend that I feel very blessed to have made.”
Mia Love’s Legacy: Through her actions
Before serving in Congress, Love served as a council member, and mayor of Saratoga Springs, Utah. Serving six years on the council, and eventually four years as mayor, she was in office for major changes in the city’s development — slowly seeing the change of community from a more rural, to more suburban-type city.
Love served four years in congress, first running in 2012 against six-term incumbent Jim Matheson. She lost that race by only 768 votes. She would again run in 2014, saying, “I’m better prepared, I’m a better candidate. Having gone through this, I understand the issues so much better, how campaigns work.” After Matheson’s retirement, she would go on to win her race by 7,511 votes, becoming the first black Republican woman elected to congress.
During her time in Congress, she served on the Financial Services Committee, where she drafted bills to audit financial services that might benefit state sponsors of terror, pushing for relief for community banks, and to raise the lending limit for smaller banks, which passed as a broader Senate bill.
She also sponsored legislation to grant women wider access to contraceptives, and a bill that would have required Members of Congress to pay back the treasury for payouts made in sexual harassment cases committed by the member of congress.
Love was also a member of the House Select Investigative Committee on Planned Parenthood, which investigated claims that the organization was selling fetal tissue. The conclusions of that report remain in dispute.
After serving for four years, Love was challenged by Democratic Ben McAdams. After a long period of counting votes, much like her run against Matheson in 2012, Love lost re-election by about 700 votes. After leaving Congress, Love became a political commentator on CNN, saying to ABC4.com at the time that considering her conservative background, “I have always believed that I needed to go where it might not be comfortable, but I am needed.”
Mia Love’s Legacy: Through her voice
At the announcement of Love’s diagnoses, and her not responding to treatment. Love has taken up her pen and offered many words of encouragement that have been flashes through her time in public service.
In an Op/Ed published in Deseret News, Love shared her experiences with her battle with cancer, public life, lessons she had learned, and her hopes for what the nation can become. She thanked the healthcare professionals who helped give her the time she had.
“My life has been extended by exceptional medical care, science and extraordinary professionals who have become dear friends,” Love wrote. “My extra season of life has also been the result of the faith and prayers of countless friends, known and unknown.”
In her piece, she told her story of her parents immigrating to the United States, the sacrifices they endured to find themselves living the American Dream — a dream that her story seems to emulate. She said that the America she knew gives back, makes tough choices, and has gritty determination. Love expressed a vision of America that is “built by citizens and leaders who respect, strengthen, and serve each other,” regardless if any identifies apart from the one that matters, “We are Americans!”
“In the end, I hope that my life will have mattered and made a difference for the nation I love and the family and friends I adore,” Love wrote. “I hope you will see the America I know in the years ahead, that you will hear my words in the whisper of the wind of freedom and feel my presence in the flame of the enduring principles of liberty.”
In a post in the early hours of the morning of Mar. 23, Love made her last post with these parting words, “I am counting on each of you and all of you to find your voice, raise it, live with character, and lead the next generation.”
FILE – In this Nov. 6, 2018, file photo, Republican U.S. Rep. Mia Love greets supporters during an election night party, in Lehi, Utah. Love, the first black Republican woman in Congress is joining CNN as a commentator after being unseated by a Democratic challenger in November. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
Love is survived by her husband Jason, her daughters Alessa and Abigale, and her son Peyton. Her parents Jean Maxime and Marie Bourdeau, her siblings Jean and Cynthia, and her granddaughter Mera.
Love’s funeral will continue tomorrow at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Institute of Religion at the University of Utah from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The public is invited to attend. In lieu of flowers, Love’s family has asked donations to be sent to the Robert Preston Tisch Brain Tumor center at Duke University Hospital, and the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
