By Rachel E. Stassen-Berger, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
MINNEAPOLIS—Former Vice President Walter Mondale had heart surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester on Wednesday.
The surgery, which a statement said was “successful,” came just a few days after his wife, Joan Mondale, passed away. Joan Mondale, 83, died on Feb. 3 and was memorialized on Feb. 8.
“Walter Mondale underwent successful heart surgery this morning at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. He is resting comfortably and is expected to make a full recovery,” said the statement, released by the family. “His family requests privacy at this time.” The family had no additional comment.
On Saturday, Mondale, 86, was surrounded by members of his family and hundreds of friends, including Vice President Joe Biden and former President Jimmy Carter, who came to pay tribute to his late wife.
Mondale served as Minnesota’s attorney general in the early 1960s, was elected to the U.S. Senate, served as U.S. vice president under Carter in the late 1970s, ran for president in 1984 and was appointed U.S. ambassador to Japan in the 1990s. Mondale also ran for U.S. Senate in 2002 after Sen. Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash. Mondale has stayed very active in Minnesota politics through the years.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
