Orrin Hatch, who served Utah for more than four decades in Congress, died Saturday evening in Salt Lake City. He was 88.

Hatch, whose death was confirmed by his namesake Hatch Foundation, was a former president pro temper of the U.S. Senate during his lengthy political career, which spanned from 1977 to 2019 — the longest period of service of any senator in Utah’s history. No cause of death was given.

“This breaks my heart,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said on Twitter. “Abby and I are so grateful for the opportunities we had to spend time with this incredible public servant. He was always so kind and generous with his time and wisdom. Utah mourns with the Hatch family.”

“Senator Orrin G. Hatch personified the American Dream,” Matt Sandgren, executive director of the Hatch Foundation, said in a public statement. “Born the son of a carpenter and plaster lather, he overcame the poverty of his youth to become a United States Senator. … From tax and trade to religious liberty and healthcare, few legislators have had a greater impact on American life than Orrin Hatch.”

“A man of wisdom, kindness, character, and compassion, Orrin G. Hatch was everything a United States Senator should be,” added A. Scott Anderson, chairman of the Hatch Foundation. “In a nation divided, Orrin Hatch helped show us a better way by forging meaningful friendships on both sides of the aisle. Today, more than ever, we would do well to follow his example. May we honor Orrin’s memory by living as he lived — committed to our country, to our principles, and to each other.”

Hatch was born on March 22, 1934, in Homestead Park, Pennsylvania, one of nine children reared in the wake of the Great Depression.

He came to Utah as a student enrolled at Brigham Young University in 1952 and married his wife, Elaine Hansen, in the Salt Lake Temple after a two-year mission to Ohio and Indiana. He earned his bachelor’s degree in history from BYU and later a law degree with honors from Pittsburgh Law School in 1962.

Following a period as a trial lawyer in Pittsburgh, Hatch moved back to Utah in 1969 and had immediate success in his first attempt at public office, unseating three-term Democratic Sen. Frank Moss.

Hatch is survived by his wife, Elaine, and their six children. Funeral arrangements are pending.

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