Utah Speaker Succumbs to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Becky Lockhart, the first female speaker of the House of Representatives of Utah, succumbed to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in January 2015. She was a trailblazer politician, and brought legislative reforms to the state. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that she started suffering from vertigo around Thanksgiving, and the disease progressed relentlessly till her death on January 17, 2015.