Geraldine Ferraro, First Female VP Candidate Dies at 75

Her battle with blood cancer is over after 13 years.

In 1998 she was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of cancer in which abnormal antibodies, called as Bence-Jones proteins, are produced by plasma cells. The disease finally claimed her life Saturday morning at Massachusetts General Hospital.

WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - The woman who made history in 1984 by running for Vice President has died at 75. Geraldine Ferraro passed away Saturday morning at 10am Eastern Time at Massachusetts General Hospital where she was being treated for blood cancer.

Most recently working as a political analyst and Fox News contributor, Ferraro was an relatively unknown Democratic congresswoman from New York (Queens) when Walter Mondale picked her as his running mate. They ran against incumbents President Ronald Reagan and Vice-President George H.W. Bush.

Delegates in San Francisco erupted in cheers at the first line of her speech accepting the vice-presidential nomination.

"My name is Geraldine Ferraro," she declared. "I stand before you to proclaim tonight: America is the land where dreams can come true for all of us."

Calling herself a Roman Catholic, Ferraro's views were in opposition to the fundamental human right to life, putting her in direct conflict with the Church.

Ferraro's family told Fox News that she "was widely known as a leader, a fighter for justice, and a tireless advocate for those without a voice.

"To us, she was a wife, mother, grandmother and aunt, a woman devoted to and deeply loved by her family. Her courage and generosity of spirit throughout her life waging battles big and small, public and personal, will never be forgotten and will be sorely missed."

After an unsuccessful campaign as Mondale's running mate, Ferraro again tried her hand at political office again in 1992, running for a senate seat from New York where she was defeated by state Attorney General Robert Abrams in the primary. Six years later she tried again but found defeat in the primary at the hands of Congressman Charles Schumer who went on to win the seat in November.

In 1998 she was also diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a form of cancer in which abnormal antibodies, called as Bence-Jones proteins, are produced by plasma cells.

With political life in her rear view window, Ferraro began working as a contributor to Fox News in 1999 as well as continuing to work in law, public relations and on a number of political campaigns, including Hillary Clinton's in 2008.

Ferraro is survived by her husband of 50 years, real estate developer John Zaccaro, her three children, their spouses and eight grandchildren.

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Randy Sly is the Associate Editor of Catholic Online and the CEO/Associate Publisher for the Northern Virginia Local Edition of Catholic Online (http://virginia.catholic.org). He is a former Archbishop of the Charismatic Episcopal Church who laid aside that ministry to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church.

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