Former Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank, one of the most consequential political figures in modern American history, has died at the age of 86. As tributes pour in, many are asking about the man he spent his later years with, his husband Jim Ready.
Who is Jim Ready?
Jim Ready, who hails from Ogunquit in Maine runs a small business offering custom awnings, carpentry, painting, welding and general handyman services. He is also a photographer, per CBS News.
Ready and Frank’s relationship made history. In July 2012, the couple married in a ceremony at the Boston Marriott hotel in Newton, Massachusetts, officiated by then-Governor Deval Patrick, according to CBS News. More than 300 friends, family members and colleagues attended the wedding. At the time of the marriage, Frank was 72 and Ready was 42.
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The wedding was not just a personal milestone, it was a historic one. Frank became the first member of Congress to enter a same-sex marriage, per USA Today. It came 25 years after another landmark moment in his life, in 1987, Frank had become the first member of Congress to voluntarily come out as gay.
What we know about his death
Frank represented Massachusetts in the US House of Representatives from 1981 to 2013. He served as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee from 2007 to 2011 and was a leading sponsor of the landmark 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, enacted to provide financial stability following the 2008 mortgage crisis.
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Frank had entered hospice care at his home in Maine in April, his sister told NBC Boston. He died on Tuesday night at the age of 86.
He died after a battle with congestive heart failure.
The tributes came quickly. “He has been such a tremendous person not just for Massachusetts but for the entire country. This makes us very sad,” Massachusetts state Senate President Karen Spilka told reporters at the Massachusetts State House, per USA Today. “He stood out and stood up and was a voice for so many people when they had no voice. He has made so many tremendous positive changes for again not only Massachusetts and as our state but our country. This is a great loss for our country.”
