Lura Lynn Ryan | Ex-governor's wife, 76

Lura Lynn Ryan, 76, the former Illinois first lady who spent the waning years of her life seeking freedom for imprisoned former Gov. George Ryan, died Monday at a hospital in Kankakee, Ill., from lung cancer.

George Ryan had been released from his prison cell in Terre Haute, Ind., to spend several hours with her on Monday, one of four times since January the prison's warden has allowed the former governor to see his ailing wife, despite repeatedly denied requests from the courts.

"It was enormously important to him and to her," said Ryan attorney Jim Thompson, a former Illinois governor. "They've been together all their lives really."

She was a steadfast supporter of her husband, whom she had met in high school, and maintained that he had never done anything wrong during his lengthy political career.

They had six children together, including a set of triplets. Friends described the couple as "nearly inseparable."

Lura Lynn Lowe grew up in the Kankakee County village of Aroma Park where her family, originally from Germany, had lived since 1834. Her father owned one of the nation's first hybrid seed companies.

She moved to Kankakee for high school. She and the former governor met in a high school English class.

Family friends and public officials called her a devoted mother, wife, and grandmother who was gracious to everyone she met.

Illinois State Treasurer Dan Rutherford called her death a "tremendous loss."

- AP