Thomas D’Alesandro III, a former Baltimore mayor and brother of Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has died.
“My husband Paul and our entire family are devastated by the loss of our patriarch, my beloved brother, Thomas D’Alesandro III,” Pelosi said Sunday in a statement released by her office. “Tommy was the finest public servant I have ever known.”
The Baltimore Sun reported D’Alesandro, age 90, died Sunday at his Baltimore home after complications of a stroke.
Pelosi remembered her brother as someone dedicated to the family hometown of Baltimore, where their father served as mayor for 12 years.
“His life and leadership were a tribute to the Catholic values with which we were raised: faith, family, patriotism. He profoundly believed, as did our parents, that public service was a noble calling and that we all had a responsibility to help others,” she said.
D’Alesandro III is survived by his wife Margaret, his children Thomas, Dominic, Nicholas, Patricia and Gregory, and his grandchildren “whom he adored,” Pelosi said in the statement.
Devout Catholics, Pelosi said her brother is now with the angels.
“All his life, Tommy worked on the side of the angels. Now, he is with them.”
Baltimore Mayor Jack Young, a Democrat, expressed his condolences to Pelosi and the D’Alesandro family in a statement Sunday, saying the former mayor will be “remembered for his commitment to and love for” the city.
Visit in Jordan
D’Alesandro’s death comes as Pelosi was visiting Jordan to meet with officials on the crisis unfolding in Syria.
A statement from the Pelosi’s office Saturday said Pelosi and Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.), Rep. Susan Davis (D-Calif.), Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.), and Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) arrived in the country to meet with King Abdullah II and other officials.
“This evening, our bipartisan delegation was honored to meet with His Majesty King Abdullah II, Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, Prince Feisal bin Al Hussein, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and senior Jordanian officials,” Pelosi said in a statement.
The Epoch Times reporter Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
