Former Arizona Republican senator Jon Kyl died at 84 from complications of a neurological disease after disclosing a dementia diagnosis in December and leaving public life. His family issued a statement Thursday on his congressional service to the state and on a private life guided by faith.

Kyl served in the House from 1987 to 1995 and in the Senate from 1995 to 2013, then briefly filled the vacancy left by John McCain in 2018. Born in Nebraska in 1942, he studied at the University of Arizona, practiced law in Phoenix, chaired the local chamber of commerce, and later as a lobbyist helped advance Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court nomination. Arizona Representative Paul Gosar expressed sadness at the loss.