Ex-Sen. George McGovern 'nearing end'

Pinning wings
Eleanor McGovern pins wings on her husband George McGovern in 1944.
Photo courtesy of Dakota Wesleyan University Archives

The daughter of former U.S. Sen. George McGovern says it's a blessing that she and other family members are able to surround her father as he declines in hospice care in South Dakota.

Ann McGovern told The Associated Press on Wednesday that her 90-year-old father is "nearing the end" and appears restful and peaceful. She says the family gathering has allowed for a "mysterious, beautiful" experience.

McGovern was the Democratic presidential candidate who lost to President Richard Nixon in 1972 in a historic landslide. He was a member of the U.S. House from 1957 to 1961 and a U.S. senator from 1963 to 1981.

He became a leader of the Democrats' liberal wing during those three decades and has turned his focus in recent years to world hunger.

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