Gov. Holcomb Orders Flags To Half-Staff To Honor Susan Bayh

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Gov. Eric Holcomb is directing that flags be flown at half-staff across the state in honor of former Indiana first lady Susan Bayh, who died last week at age 61 after a battle with brain cancer.

Holcomb issued the order Friday, asking that flags be lowered, including by businesses and state residents, to half-staff until sunset on Feb. 18.

Holcomb's office noted in a statement that a memorial for Bayh “will be held at a later date when health conditions allow."

Bayh, who was an attorney and wife of former Gov. Evan Bayh, died on Feb. 5 in McLean, Virginia, “after a long and courageous fight” against brain cancer, her family announced.

She was Indiana’s first lady for eight years after her husband, a Democrat, became governor in 1989.

Evan Bayh served two terms as governor before being elected to the U.S. Senate. The Bayhs have twin sons, Beau and Nick, who were born in 1995 while their father was governor.

Susan Bayh first underwent brain surgery in 2015 to remove a benign tumor. She later had multiple surgeries and radiation and immunotherapy treatments after a malignant glioblastoma was discovered in May 2018. That is the same type of aggressive brain cancer that killed Arizona Sen. John McCain in 2018.

Holcomb said in a statement following Bayh's death that she was “an extraordinary and radiant public servant, wife, mother and friend, who leaves a remarkable impact on our state and nation.”