Lee Hart, wife of 1984 presidential hopeful Gary Hart, dies

LAKEWOOD, Colo. (AP) - The wife of former U.S. Sen. Gary Hart of Colorado has died. Lee Hart was 85. She died Friday at a hospital in Lakewood after a brief illness.

She campaigned for her husband during his runs for the Senate and the White House.

Gary Hart in 1984 sought the Democratic presidential nomination, losing narrowly to former Vice President Walter Mondale. He declined to seek reelection to the Senate in 1986 and unsuccessfully sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988.

Oletha Ludwig Hart was born in Lawrence, Kansas, on Feb. 20, 1936. She graduated from Bethany Nazarene College in 1958 and married her husband that summer. She is survived by her husband and two children.