Just one day after independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders returned to his home state, recovering from a heart attack, his daughter-in-law died at 46.
Raine Riggs was married to Sanders’ son Levi, and according to an obituary posted by the Lee & Martin Funeral Home in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, the two met while they were both working at an emergency food shelter in Vermont.
The daughter-in-law of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has died, shortly after being diagnosed with cancer. Rainè Riggs was 46 https://t.co/FR8Ca02exe
— Bloomberg (@business) October 8, 2019
Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang expressed his condolences to his primary opponent and to Riggs’ family as well, tweeting, “My condolences to the Sanders family for this tragic loss – no kids should survive their parents like this.”
My condolences to the Sanders family for this tragic loss – no kids should survive their parents like this. https://t.co/nJSBp3iSHw
— Andrew Yang???? (@AndrewYang) October 8, 2019
Riggs had reportedly fallen ill several weeks earlier, but doctors struggled to determine the root cause of her symptoms. She was finally given an official diagnosis of neuroendocrine cancer just two days prior to her death. (RELATED: Doctors Say Bernie Sanders Had A Heart Attack)
Riggs worked as a neuropsychologist and she is survived by Sanders, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2018, and their three children.