NC Rep. David Price’s wife dies in Chapel Hill after illness, congressman says
Lisa Price, the wife of U.S. Rep. David Price, died Thursday morning in Chapel Hill, the congressman announced.
“Lisa was my life partner, supporter of everything I undertook, political and otherwise,” Price said in a news release. “I was immensely proud of her leadership roles, from alderman of New Haven to being at the right hand of two Chapel Hill mayors, co-founding and leading North Carolinians Against Gun Violence and campaigning energetically for civil rights, environmental protections, animal welfare and the Kidzu Children’s Museum.”
Lisa Price was often seen with her husband throughout his campaigns and political career while he represented North Carolina’s 4th Congressional District almost continuously since 1987. He plans to retire at the end of his current term this year.
The couple married in 1968 and lived in Chapel Hill since 1973. She worked as a stay-at-home mother to take care of their two children, Karen and Michael, before working for Chapel Hill mayors Jonathan Howes and Ken Broun, according to the congressman’s biography.
Lisa Price helped found North Carolinans Against Gun Violence and served as executive director until her retirement in 2007.
News of Lisa Price’s death came Thursday as senators stood on the floor debating an 80-page gun bill that would expand mental health resources and make changes to the country’s gun laws. The organization she helped found supports the bill that is in direct response to recent mass shootings, including one that killed 19 children and two adults at a Texas elementary school.
Lisa Price continued to be known for her work advocating against gun violence. In 2016, she wrote a letter to the editor to The News & Observer about how she hoped Americans’ “outrage about gun violence” would prompt legislative change.
She wrote: “During the years I directed North Carolinians Against Gun Violence, I asked pro-gun people: ‘Don’t you care about citizens injured or killed by guns? Have you no empathy for people killed in gun accidents, suicides and murder? Can’t we agree that to help prevent this carnage we must have laws to keep guns out of the wrong hands?’”
Gov. Roy Cooper remembered Lisa Price for her work Thursday afternoon.
“Lisa Price was a strong leader who made a difference focusing on our children and working to stop gun violence,” Cooper wrote on Twitter. “Our prayers go out to Congressman Price, their family and friends on this great loss for them and our state.”
Rep. Deborah Ross also tweeted that her heart “broke” for her colleague and his family.
“Lisa was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother, and an extraordinary champion for our community,” Ross wrote. “Her passion for progress in North Carolina knew no bounds.”
Rep. Price said in a written statement that his wife had been struggling with an illness in recent weeks, but didn’t disclose further details. The Hill, citing Price’s spokesperson, reported that she had been battling cancer.
He thanked the community for the outpouring of love and support they offered to their family.
This story was originally published June 23, 2022 at 2:15 PM.
