Hundreds come to honor Mia Love ahead of funeral

Two state troopers stand by the casket of Rep. Mia Love in the Utah State Capitol on Sunday, April 6, 2025. (Photo by Marco Lozzi for Utah News Dispatch)

As beautiful spring weather drew visitors to the grounds of the Utah State Capitol, nearly 1,000 friends, coworkers and constituents gathered inside to pay their respects to former Utah Rep. Mia Love and offer their condolences to her family. 

Love is survived by an extensive family including her husband Jason, daughters Abigale and Alessa, and son Peyton, who greeted guests at the Capitol as Love lay in state.

Love’s career was marked by important firsts, including being the first Black woman elected as mayor in Utah, when she was chosen to lead Saratoga Springs, and as the first Black Utahn elected to Congress. When she took her place in the U.S. House, she was the first Black Republican congresswoman.

She died March 23 at the age of 49 after battling a rare form of brain cancer.

As they shared memories of Love on Sunday, some who came to honor her recalled her energy for her work and her commitment to Utahns.

“Mia was, I think, groundbreaking in a number of different ways. She had the energy to do the job, but she wanted to do it in a way that made a difference to people and that meant representing all the people,” said Richard Piatt, Love’s former communications director. “She would meet with anyone that wanted to meet with her, and she made friends with a lot of people. I think that that’s probably one of her biggest legacies is that she didn’t mind taking on issues that she knew mattered to Utah, and mattered for the 4th District.”

Others described Love’s knack for connecting with those she met and her dedication to service.

“If you talk to just about anybody here, they will tell you that they were best friends with Mia. She was everybody’s best friend,” said DeLaina Tonks, a longtime friend of Love. “Her dad told her ‘You must give back.’ That was his thing that he told her after coming to the states from Haiti, and she has taken that to heart. That’s what she taught her children, it’s what she taught my children, it’s what she taught all of her friends is that we’re here to make a difference, to change the world and to make the world a better place.”

Love will be remembered in funeral services Monday at 10 a.m. at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Institute building at the University of Utah. A live stream can be viewed on YouTube.

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