Former US Representative Barney Frank Dies at 86

Barney Frank, a former Democratic U.S. representative from Massachusetts, died Tuesday night at age 86, his family told NBC10 Boston.

“He was, above all else, a wonderful brother. I was lucky to be his sister,” Frank’s sister, Doris Breay, told the outlet Wednesday morning.

Frank, who served in the U.S. House from 1981 to 2013, entered hospice care at his home in Maine last month, Politico reported. He had been dealing with congestive heart failure.

In an interview at the time, he told the outlet that “at 86, I’ve made it longer than I thought,” adding that “at some point, my heart’s just going to give out, and it’s reaching that stage. So I’m taking it easy at home and dealing with it by relaxing.”

Frank represented Massachusetts’ 4th Congressional District for 32 years, becoming a prominent figure in financial regulation and LGBTQ rights.