Pennsylvania leaders remember former state Sen. Shirley Kitchen, who represented North Philly for decades

Former Pennsylvania state Sen. Shirley Kitchen has died at 79 years old, local officials said Sunday. 

Kitchen, a Democrat, won a special election to serve in the Pennsylvania state House of Representatives from 1987 to 1988. She lost her reelection bid but was elected to the state Senate in 1996, where she served until her retirement in 2016.

Kitchen was the second African American woman to serve in the state Senate.

Born Sept. 18, 1946, in Augusta, Georgia, Kitchen was educated in the Philadelphia public school system. She started her career as a social worker in Philadelphia and briefly worked as director of constituent services for City Council President John F. Street in the 1980s, according to her biography on the Pennsylvania state House website.

In a post on social media, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party said Kitchen "spent decades improving life for the communities she represented in North Philadelphia." 

Philadelphia City Council President Kenyatta Johnson called Kitchen "a trailblazer and a fierce advocate for the people of Philadelphia" in a statement. 

"Senator Kitchen never forgot who she was fighting for, and she dedicated her life to making sure families had greater access to opportunity, quality healthcare, education, and a government that worked for everyone," Johnson said.

"She was a mentor, a friend, a surrogate grandmother, and someone whom the world will never be the same without," state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta said in a statement about Kitchen's death. 

"It feels right, somehow, that she left us on the same day America turned 250, because no one did more to make good on this country's promises than Shirley Kitchen did in North Philadelphia," Kenyatta continued. 

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker described Kitchen in a post on Facebook as "a longtime, caring voice for the voiceless."