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Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) revealed on Tuesday that he lost his oldest daughter this week after a year-long battle with cancer.
“It is with the most profound sense of grief and joy that Sara Jane and I announce the passing of our oldest daughter, Sydney Marie (Van Orden) Martens after a year of battling a very aggressive form of cancer,” he said in a statement.
The former U.S. Navy SEAL said that his daughter “died peacefully surrounded by her family.”
“We are heartbroken that we cannot share her smile and laugh in person any longer but are so thankful that she is resting with our Lord and that we were able to spend these years with her and her family,” he said. “Sydney is survived by grandma Virginia Whitelock, husband Chris, daughter Madelyn, sons, Charlie and Roman, father and mother Derrick and Sara Jane, Sister Abigail (Williams), brothers, Theodore and Daniel, and many uncles, aunts, and cousins.”