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- By Levi Rickert
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Breaking News. Eugene “Buzzy” Peltola, the husband of Rep. Mary Peltola (D), died on Wednesday morning after the single-engine plane he was flying crashed shortly after takeoff in a mountainous area of southwestern Alaska, officials said. Affectionately known as Buzzy, Mr. Peltola was 57.
“He was one of those people that was obnoxiously good at everything,” Ms. Peltola’s chief of staff, Anton McParland, said in the statement. “He had a delightful sense of humor that darkened the lightest moments. He was definitely the cook in the family. And family was most important to him.”
Rep. Peltola, the first elected Alaska Native to serve in the U.S. Congress was in Washington, D.C. when the accident occurred and will return to Alaska, according to her congressional office.
In September 2022, Rep. Peltola won a special election and became the first Alaska Native to serve in Congress and the first female representative elected by her district. She was born in Alaska and raised on the Kuskokwim River in Kwethluk, Tuntutuliak, Platinum, and Bethel.
The Navajo Nation Council released a statement on Wednesday afternoon.
“We are deeply saddened by the sudden loss of Congresswoman Peltola’s beloved husband. The Navajo Nation Council offers our condolences and prayers to her and the family. We pray that they can find comfort in knowing that their loved one is now with our Creator. She has been a tremendous advocate on many issues for tribes including the Navajo Nation,” said Navajo Nation Speaker Crystalyne Curley said in the statement.
Editor’s Note: This is a breaking story. More information will be added to the article as it becomes available.
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