WHEELING, W.Va. -- State Sen. Judith Herndon, the only woman member of the West Virginia Senate, died of cancer Wednesday night in a Wheeling hospital. She was 39.
Miss Herndon, a promient tax attorney in Wheeling, had served a decade in the West Virginia Legislature and distinguished herself as a fiscal conservative.
Senate President William T. Brotherton, D-W.Va., called her death 'a real personal loss.'
'She was a legislative giant,' Brotherton said. 'It's a great loss to the state of West Virginia. She was one of the most outstanding legislators I've ever had the opportunity to serve with.'
She underwent surgery Nov. 8 and had been hospitalized since then.
Miss Herndon was a leading figure in the Republican Party and a strong supporter of President-elect Ronald Reagan.
