Former Rep. William Coyne dead at 77

Former Rep. William Coyne (D-Pa.), who represented Pittsburgh for 22 years, has died at 77.

He died early Sunday morning from complications related to a fall he had two months ago, his longtime executive assistant, Jamie Rooney, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“Bill was in good health until he fell and hit his head, very good shape,” Rooney said to the paper.

{mosads}He died at a Pittsburgh city hospital, The Associated Press reports.

Coyne served in Congress from 1981 until 2003. Before his time on Capitol Hill, he spent six years on the Pittsburgh City Council. In the early 1970s, he also served two years as a representative in Pennsylvania’s state legislature.

He was a “classic Pittsburgher who grew up and lived in the same house all his life. He never adopted that Washington disconnect that sometimes happens to elected officials,” former Mayor Tom Murphy said, according to the AP.

Instead, Murphy says, Coyne “remained humble and kept the values that he grew up with.”

He was recognized as a quiet legislator, and achieved a number of successes as a member of the powerful House Way and Means Committee, including industrial development bonds for cities and earned income tax credits for the poor.

Dan Coyne, his nephew, told Pittsburgh news site TribLIVE.com the congressman spent part of his retirement from Washington traveling back and forth to Ireland, where he has relatives.

Coyne is survived by a brother, and nieces and nephews.