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Bernie Sanders' daughter-in-law dies of cancer at 46

By Kelly Taylor Hayes
Published  October 9, 2019 6:41am EDT
News
Associated Press

Bernie Sanders' daughter-in-law dies at 46

The funeral home in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, said Raine Riggs died Saturday, the day Sanders returned to Vermont after suffering a heart attack.

BURGETTSTOWN, Pa. - The daughter-in-law of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has died, shortly after being diagnosed with cancer. Rainè Riggs was 46.

The Lee & Martin Funeral Home in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, says Riggs died Saturday, the day Sanders returned to Vermont after suffering a heart attack. Her obituary said she was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer.

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Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) greets guests at the Polk County Democrats' Steak Fry on September 21, 2019 in Des Moines, Iowa. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

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Riggs, a neuropsychologist, was married to Levi Sanders, who ran unsuccessfully for a New Hampshire congressional seat in 2018. Riggs' obituary says she met Levi Sanders while the two worked at an emergency food shelter in Vermont.

The obituary said Riggs was the director of behavioral medicine at Dartmouth Medical School for several years, and she started the Palliative Care Department for Dartmouth Medical Center. She also owned Riggs Geriatric Psychology in Windsor, Vermont.

Riggs and Sanders had three children.