Hundreds gather in St. Louis to remember former US Sen. Jean Carnahan

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Children and grandchildren of former U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan of Missouri recalled her wit, curiosity, kindness and hard work during a public memorial service on Saturday. Carnahan died Jan. 30 in hospice care in suburban St. Louis after a short illness. She was 90. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that hundreds turned out for the service honoring her in St. Louis. Carnahan became Missouri’s first female U.S. senator when she was appointed to replace her husband, Mel Carnahan. The two-term Democratic governor was running for Senate against incumbent Republican John Ashcroft when Carnahan died in a plane crash that also killed his son, Randy, and campaign adviser Chris Sifford, just weeks before the 2000 election.