Ohio congressman found dead in apartment

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Rep. Paul Gillmor of Ohio was found dead in his townhouse in Arlington, Virginia, on Wednesday, leadership aides for both the Republican and Democratic parties said.

Gillmor, a Republican, was 68. The leadership aides did not say how Gillmor died.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, told fellow congressmen on the floor of the House that their colleague died "suddenly overnight."

"He was a good friend to all of us," said a somber Boehner. "He's going to be missed by us all."

A tribute to Gillmor will be held in the House later Wednesday afternoon, Boehner said. Watch Boehner tell colleagues of death »

Gillmor, the deputy minority whip, was in his 10th term in the House, representing the 5th Congressional District in the northwest part of the Buckeye state.

He was a member of the House Committee on Financial Services, and the ranking Republican on the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.

Gillmor also served on the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance and Government Sponsored-Enterprises and the Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity.

He was elected to Congress in 1988, after serving in the Ohio State Senate for 22 years, where he was elected Republican leader five times.

Gillmor was born Feb. 1, 1939, in Tiffin, Ohio. He received a bachelor of arts degree from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, and a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School.

In 2006, Roll Call -- a Capitol Hill newspaper -- listed him as the 43rd richest member of Congress, with an estimated net worth of $6.16 million. He formerly ran a financial services company.

Gillmor was also a U.S. Air Force veteran -- where he attained the rank of captain -- and ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1986. He served in the Vietnam War in 1965 and 1966.

He was married to Karen Gillmor, vice chairman of the State Employment Relations Board in Ohio and a former state senator.

Their family includes two daughters, Linda and Julie, and three sons, Paul and twins Connor and Adam. E-mail to a friend

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