NASHVILLE (AP) — Tennessee lawmakers will remember state Rep. Lois DeBerry when they reconvene for the legislative session on Tuesday.
A tribute is planned for the Memphis Democrat who died in July after a nearly five-year battle with pancreatic cancer.
DeBerry was the longest-serving member of the state House of Representatives. She also was the second African-American woman to serve in the General Assembly and the first female speaker pro tempore in the House.
Raumesh A. Akbari, a Democratic Memphis attorney, won a special election to fill the District 91 seat that DeBerry had held since 1972.