Courtesy of NPR Former state Representative Sylvia Gale, Democrat of Nashua, has died at age 70 after battling cancer.

NASHUA – Sylvia Gale, a longtime Nashua resident and former state social worker who represented Nashua’s Ward 1 in the State House and advocated tirelessly for social justice causes, has died after a battle with cancer.

Known as an “activist’s activist,” Gale, 70, is being recalled as a passionate public servant whose work went well beyond her State House term in 2012-14.

“I join countless others in grieving the passing of Sylvia Gale, a woman who dedicated her life to our community,” Jordan Thompson, a Nashua resident and a racial justice organizer with the American Civil Liberties Union of New Hampshire, wrote in a social media post paying tribute to Gale.

“Sylvia was exactly the kind of leader we should all aspire to be; passionate, strong-willed, hard-working and courageous like no other. She cared about Nashua on a deeply personal level and she showed up for our residents in every way that she could,” Thompson wrote.

“New Hampshire politics won’t be the same without her presence.”