From Statehouse News Service:
BOSTON – State Rep. Joyce Spiliotis, a Peabody Democrat who has served in the House since 2003, passed away overnight, according to two of her colleagues. She was 65.
Spiliotis died after a battle with cancer, according to her House colleagues.
Rep. Bradford Hill, a good friend of Spiliotis, said he was “crushed” by the news of her death.
Hill commuted from the North Shore to the State House with Spiliotis for many years and said she kept her illness a secret. She was in the hospital during the last few days, he said.
“I didn’t know. She was very private about it,” he said. “She didn’t really tell anybody, which is a little surprising to me. She was so open and so frank in so many ways.”
“We had more fun on the way home, we laughed,” said Hill, a Republican from Ipswich. “She always had a laugh. We would call her a card. She was always fun to be around.”
…I’m heartened to hear about the two reps of different parties commuting together. It’s little things like this that engender a greater spirit of cooperation and collegiality that is sorely lacking in our politics.