State Lawmaker Harrison Dies at the Age of 69

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — State Rep. Esther Harrison, who represented Lowndes County in the Legislature since 2000, has died. She was 69.

Longtime friend Constance Slaughter-Harvey, speaking on the behalf the family, says Harrison died on her birthday Wednesday morning at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis. The cause of death was not immediately released but Slaughter-Harvey says Harrison had been in and out of the hospital over several weeks.

Slaughter-Harvey says Harrison had been on kidney dialysis for 12 years.

Harrison represented House District 41 located wholly in Lowndes County.

Harrison was chairwoman of the House State Library Committee in the 2008-2012 and was vice chairman of the committee this term. She also served on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.

Funeral arrangements are pending. Survivors include a daughter, Aubra Berenice Givens.